Egyptian footballer Ibrahim Konsha is confirmed dead after a gun battle on Friday during a raid on a suspected militant hideout in the western desert, according to reports, Football Club El Qanah have announced that one of their players, has died at the hands of Islamist militants.
The El Qanah player, who was fulfilling his national service, was among the victims, however, about 52 Egyptian police and conscripts were killed and six more wounded sources said on Saturday.
The security sources said authorities were following a lead to a hideout deep in the desert thought to house eight suspected members of Hasm, a group which has claimed several attacks around the capital targeting judges and police since last year.
The so-called Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the series of attacks targeting checkpoints in Sheikh Zweid.
Egypt is battling an Islamist insurgency concentrated in the Sinai peninsula from two main groups, including an Islamic State affiliate, that has killed hundreds of security forces since 2013.
Islamist militants have launched several major attacks, most recently targeting churches in Cairo and other cities with the loss of dozens of lives.
Egypt government accuses Hasm of being the militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group it outlawed in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this.
The Islamist insurgency in the Sinai peninsula has grown since the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.
The militant group staging the insurgency pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014. It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen and has started to target other areas, including Egypt’s Christian Copts.
Top Egyptian clubs such as five-time African champions Zamalek and Ismaily all offered condolence messages for the club’s loss.
