The Egyptian army announced Wednesday the death of an ISIS senior commander in Sinai. "As a continuation of the efforts of the armed forces to tighten control over areas witnessing terrorist activities in north and central Sinai, the Third Army field forces raided a number of rugged mountainous areas in central Sinai and killed Nasser Abu Zukul, Emir of ISIS in central Sinai, after a heavy exchange of fire,” the army said in a statement. It said it found a rifle, two grenades and a large quantity of ammunition with the slain insurgent leader. The army stressed that its forces and police will continue "their efforts to eliminate ISIS elements and criminals in central Sinai." Egypt has been hit by significant attacks in recent years, especially after the army toppled Islamist former president Mohammed Morsi in the summer of 2013, amid mass protests against his government. On the other hand, Egypt’s Court of Cassation set July 2 as the date for the verdict on the appeals filed by 1,554 of those put on the terror list, including former president Morsi, Brotherhood Leader Mohamed Badie, First Vice President Khairat el-Shater, President of the dissolved Peoples Assembly Saad Katatni, Former football player Mohammed Abu Trika and businessman Safwan Thabet. In January 2017, the Cairo Criminal Court placed 1,500 defendants, affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, on the country’s terror list, who were charged with funneling funds to the outlawed group. Former Parliament Speaker Fathi Soror, who represents one of the defendants in the above-mentioned case, demanded the Cassation Court to overturn the Criminal Court’s “ill-founded” decision, which was based on procedural grounds, not on evidence-based investigations, as he put it during his address to the court.