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Sudanese soldiers are seen on an army vehicle as they drive through the defense ministry compound
KHARTOUM, Sept 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Five Sudanese counterterrorism officers were killed during a raid in Khartoum targeting “a cell linked to the Daesh group”, the country’s intelligence services said in a statement.
“After receiving information on the presence of a terrorist cell linked to Daesh, intelligence officers conducted a search,” it said.
During the operation, “two officers and three non-commissioned officers” were killed, while “four foreign terrorists managed to escape”.
“Eleven terrorists from different foreign countries have been arrested,” the statement added.
A two-story house in the capital’s Jabra neighborhood was surrounded by a cordon of security forces, who asked crowds to move away in case explosives were left behind.
Neighbors said they heard an exchange of gunfire and saw the wounded being transported away in cars.
In 2019 the US Department of State warned of the risk of Daesh in Sudan.
“Despite the absence of high-profile terrorist attacks, Daesh facilitation networks appear to be active within Sudan,” it said.
Sudanese officials had “acknowledged that there were ‘extremists’ linked to Daesh in the country”, the report added.
To the north of Sudan lies Egypt, which for years has been battling an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula led mainly by the local branch of the Daesh group.
Another group of extremist fighters is active in Yemen, across the Red Sea from Sudan.
The clash comes after Sudan’s government said last week it thwarted a coup attempt involving military officers and civilians linked to the regime of ousted strongman Omar al-Bashir. — NNN-AGENCIES
