‘Use all brute force necessary’: Egypt’s Sisi tells military chief to secure Sinai in three months

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi gives a televised statement on the attack in North Sinai on November 24 in this still photo taken from a video. (Egypt state TV via Reuters)

CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday ordered his military command to use all force necessary to secure the Sinai peninsula within the next three months following a militant attack on a mosque that killed more than 300 people.
“It is your responsibility to secure and stabilize Sinai within the next three months,” Sisi said addressing his new chief of staff in a speech, without giving details on any operations. “You can use all brute force necessary.”
No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s mosque attack, but Egyptian forces have been battling a stubborn Daesh affiliate in the North Sinai for more than three years and militants have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.