location: Al Arish
notes: An Egyptian air strike killed the head of the Islamic State group along with at least 45 other militants south of Al-Arish. The armies announcement did not say when the operation took place but named the head of the Egyptian affiliate of the group based in the Sinai Peninsula as Abu Doaa al-Ansari. The report could not be confirmed and an Egyptian expert on the Sinai insurgency, said that the military did not provide al-Ansaris real name, which casts doubts on the purported leaders identity and the report of his death. The officials also suggested that the 45 who were mentioned in the military spokesmans statement as killed alongside al-Ansari, may have perished in a series of airstrikes earlier this week that targeted IS positions and ammunition depots near the border town of Rafah.
target_text: location: Al Arish, fatalities: 46