Militants kill military draftee in Egypt's Sinai

An Egyptian police conscript was shot dead on Thursday by militants in Rafah city in North Sinai province, a security source said. "The man was heading from Rafah to Arish in civilian attire while the militants set up a fake checkpoint on the highway, stopped his car and shot him dead," the source said, accusing al- Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem Supporters) group of the attack. The accident came one day after another extremist Islamist group, Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt), launched a series of blasts outside Cairo University, leaving a senior policeman killed and several others injured. Both groups claimed that their attacks were in response to the ongoing arrest campaigns and security crackdown on supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi who was removed by the military last July after mass protests against his one-year rule. Since Morsi's removal, extremist groups have been launching terrorist attacks against security personnel and facilities in the Sinai Peninsula, the capital Cairo and some other provinces, leaving dozens killed and hundreds injured. Meanwhile the security forces have been waging a massive crackdown on Morsi's loyalists. Last August the security used excessive force to disband two major pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza, leaving about 1,000 dead and thousands arrested. Source: XINHUA