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Two Egyptian service members were killed and others were injured in a friendly fire accident in the Sinai Peninsula on March 26, ISIS’ al-Nab’a newspaper claimed in a report released on April 2.
Egyptian sources reported the death of the two service members, Abram Mamdouh Solhi and Ayman Khalaf Ahmed, claiming that it was the result of an attack by ISIS cells on a checkpoint of the Egyptian military near Rafah city. Back then, the sources even claimed that two terrorists of ISIS were killed in the clashes.
ISIS, however, said the service members were killed when an Egyptian artillery position near the city of Sheikh Zuweid pounded an army checkpoint next to Yamit factory by mistake.
“Scared army personnel thought that they were under attack … their positions began to shell nearby areas in a crazy, random way. The shooting lasted until the early hours of the morning, resulting in the death of two and the injury of others,” al-Nab’a’s report reads.
The terrorist group said this was not the Egyptian military’s first friendly fire accident, claiming that such accident usually take place during foggy days and when weather conditions are too bad.
ISIS’ claims are almost impossible to verify. However, the terrorist group is known for making up such stories to left the morale of its supporters.
In the last week, ISIS remnants in Sinai sustained heavy losses, according to an Egyptian official who told Germany’s DPA that the terrorist group is about to collapse. This explains why ISIS would make such claims now.