Egyptian Christians are fleeing the restive Sinai Peninsula, some with just the clothes on their backs, amid a series of killings and an explicit call by Islamic State for its followers to target the minority group

The internal displacement has reached a scale rarely seen in Egypt outside natural disasters. Some 118 Coptic Christian families have fled the northern town of Al Arish—a hotbed of Islamic State activity in Egypt—since Thursday after a Coptic man was shot and killed in front of his family, state media and Christian activists said, like reported by foxnews.com.

No one claimed responsibility but residents fear the attack was carried out by the terror group. Seven Copts have been killed in north Sinai in the past month, all of the attacks unclaimed, according to state media.

The exodus comes in the wake of an Islamic State video, released last week, instructing followers to target Coptic Christians. It featured a tribute to the militant they claim carried out a December suicide bombing at Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral that killed more than 25 worshipers, one of the biggest attacks ever on Egypt’s Christians.

The terror group’s Egyptian affiliate, Sinai Province, has sporadically targeted Christians while more frequently attacking police and military personnel in the north Sinai.

President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who came to power in a 2013 military coup promising to restore stability following years of upheaval, has struggled to stop the militants.

Christians, who make up about 10% of the country’s population, initially supported him over the ousted Muslim Brotherhood official Mohammed Morsi, whose group is seen by many Copts as hostile to their church.

On Sunday, the president’s office said Mr. Sisi had instructed the government “to take all the necessary measures to provide accommodation for the citizens” who had fled their homes.

Most had gone to churches but were being provided government housing, mostly in Ismailia province, Egypt’s state newspaper, Al Ahram, quoted the parliamentary affairs minister as saying.

Each family will be provided with roughly $60 in emergency aid, in addition to access to education and health care services, the newspaper said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Monday for a foiled bomb attack on an Algerian police station one day earlier, the group’s AMAQ news agency reported.

“An operation of martyrdom using an explosive in a bag by an Islamic State fighter yesterday targeted an Algerian police station in the Constantine city centre,” AMAQ said.

The militant was shot before he could enter the station, state news reported.

A suicide bomber detonated himself outside a police station in Constantine, but was shot dead by an alert officer

Several police officers were reportedly injured after a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a police station in the eastern Algerian city of Constantine on Sunday (26 February) evening, like reported by ibtimes.co.uk .

Algerian state news agency APS and local media sources reported that the attacker was shot dead before he could enter the building. The area is currently under lock down as an investigation has been launched.

According to Reuters, Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui reportedly confirmed the attack to state television, but declined to give further details. He wished a quick recovery to the wounded officers, without giving any specifics.

Local media outlet TSA said three police officers were wounded in the incident that took place around 8.30pm local time (7.30pm GMT), while El-Watan newspaper reported two victims, citing hospital sources.

The dead militant was known to the police and was implicated in another attack in which a police officer was killed, RT News wrote, citing Sky News Arabia.

Meanwhile, the state news agency reported that the public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident. It is suspected that the attacker wanted to blow himself up inside the police station. However, an officer outside the police station spotted him and shot him dead.

The Directorate General of National Security said that the alert officer was “precisely targeting the explosive belt carried by the terrorist”. The police service also said that the casualty could be higher as the police station is located beneath a building that houses “a dozen families”.

Clashes intensified between Fatah Movement and extremist Islamic groups in Ain Helweh Camp, National News Agency Correspondent said on Sunday, adding that machine guns and rocket propelled grenades were used during the clashes and were heard across the region of Sidon.

News of halt of financial allocations for some of Hezbollah’s allies and journalists, and closing of Iran-financed television al-Alam, come to assure the news of the party’s financial crisis which clearly reflected on its society, like reported by aawsat.com.

Al-Alam had called upon its employees to attend sessions of liquefying its assets due to the current situation, and following the request it had presented to the Ministry of Labor.

“Lebanon 24” News site reported sources saying that Hezbollah’s circle of allies began lessening expenses of all committees, conventions, and study-centers.

Sources indicated that projects executed by president of al-Tawhid movement Wiam Wahhab and financed by Iran had stopped because the funding ceased during this time.

Political researcher Ali al-Amin said that anyone who enters the southern suburb of Beirut, which is considered Hezbollah’s stronghold, can sense the social and economic cries suffered by the party’s society.

Amin said that in addition to that, number of “mafias”, gangs, and theft increased which reflects the deterioration of Hezbollah’s public and private situations. He added, the party became incapable of financing a lot of social causes.

“The party is now unable to support and finance the close circuits within its organizations,” Amin told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He pointed out that Iran’s financial support receded, adding that the U.S. sanctions posed on the party was clearly reflected on its surrounding environment.

However, Amin said, that Hezbollah is Iran’s strong arm in Lebanon and thus a priority. War in Syria takes a lot of this funding despite that fighters’ allocations were decreased to a 50% in some cases.

Amin doesn’t rule out that this will affect Hezbollah during the parliamentary elections.

“I believe that Hezbollah wishes to postpone the elections, because it is unable, during this crisis, to meet the political and funding needs,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning, that U.S. imposed sanctions on banks and financial institutions that deal with Hezbollah or contribute with its money laundry and institutions.

The U.S. even added more sanctions since President Trump took office. They even made a list of names of Lebanese personnel and companies that work for Hezbollah.

A car bomb exploded in Benghazi on Sunday, killing two Dignity Operation militants, local sources said to libyaobserver.ly.

A military convoy of around 8 vehicles for Al-Saiqa forces was targeted with the car bomb in Al-Hawari district. 4 militants including senior commander Mahmoud Al-Wirfalli were wounded in the explosion.

“The car bomb was parked on the road near Al-Anabib roundabout and went off just as the convoy was passing by,” the sources said.

The explosion comes just after 4 days from the assassination attempt of Chief of Benghazi Security Department, Salah Huwaidi by a car bomb.

Sources claimed the car bomb attack on Al-Saiqa convoy came in retaliation for Salah Huwaidi’s failed assassination attempt. Huwaidi’s Criminal Investigation Department accused Al-Saiqa affiliates of being behind the car bomb that targeted Huwaidi’s convoy 4 days ago.

Hizbullah has been able to obtain strategic naval capabilities that could threaten Israel during any upcoming war, Israeli reports have said according to naharnet.com .

It is believed that Hizbullah was able to obtain around eight P-800 Onyx shore-to-sea missiles, also known in export markets as Yakhont, the reports said.

The party could use the Onyx missiles to “significantly threaten the Israeli Navy, the US Sixth Fleet and civilian vessels in the Mediterranean, as well as Israel’s newly built oil and gas rigs,” Israeli intelligence officials stated.

“The Russian anti-ship Yakhont missile can be fired from the shore and has a range of up to 300 kilometers. Even the most advanced missile interception systems are unable to effectively intercept it,” said the reports.

Conflicting news reported Friday afternoon that about 10 people from both sides of the clashes in Abu Salim, downtown Tripoli have been killed and several others were injured.

The clashes between Ghaniwa and Burki armed forces that are positioned in Abu Salim district continued on Friday with heavy and medium weapons used to shell randomly densely populated neighbourhoods.