A little known Egyptian group has claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior Egyptian army officer outside his suburban Cairo home, reported Associated Press.
In a statement released by the “Banner of the Revolution” on the social media accounts known to be “sympathetic to militant groups”. However, the claim’s authenticity could not be immediately verified said AP.
The statement said Ragai’s driver and security guard were injured in the Saturday attack, “which Egyptian media reported had been carried out by three masked gunmen,” said AP.
The statement said that the attack was carried out as a part of ” revenge for the killing earlier this month by security forces of Mohammed Kamal, a senior official of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.”
The Banner of the Revolution claimed responsibility for only one attack that took place in August when ” shooting at a checkpoint in Menoufiya province north of Cairo left two policemen dead and wounded three policemen and two civilians.”
Brig-Gen. Adel Ragai was the commander of the army 9th armored division headquartered in the sprawling military base of Dahshour west of Cairo. In addition, he has recently served in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, where security forces have been fighting Islamic militants for years.
In fact, before the statement, there were suspicions around Sinai Province, a local affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS), leading the fight against security forces in Sinai, and “Hasm” (Decisiveness), a shadowy group that has appeared lately.
In the recent weeks, Hasm has claimed responsibility for attacks in Cairo, including a shooting against the country’s former mufti, and a car bomb against the chief prosecutor’s deputy. Both escaped unhurt.
Since the military coup against Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, the insurgency attacks against the military and security forces have grown deadlier mainly in Sinai and recently attacks started to appear in other governorates .
