Senior Egyptian army officer gunned down by militants

A senior Egyptian army officer who played a major role in destroying terrorists' hideouts was shot dead today near his house, officials said.
Brigadier General Abdel Ragaei was targeted by some unknown militants when he was leaving his house for work at Obour city, about 35 kilometers north-east of Cairo.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.
A military funeral is expected to be held here today which will be attended by officials, leaders and military personnel, media reports said.
Ragaei had worked in North Sinai for a long period and had a major role in the army operations there to destroy tunnels that leads to Gaza strip.

Egypt has witnessed a series of terrorist attacks which targeted policemen, judges and military personnel in different parts of the country.

Since the 2011 revolution that topped ex-president Hosni Mubarak, the country's restive North Sinai, which is the base of a number of extremist outlaw groups, became the main stage of many violent attacks by gunmen.
The attacks even increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following massive protests against his rule.
Over 700 security personnel have been reported killed since then.
The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses belonging to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza strip.