Libyan terrorist Abdel Rahim el-Mesmary, the mastermind of the 2017 Wahat attack was executed in Egypt on Saturday, according to state-run TV.
The Western Sahara attack occurred in October 2017 when Al-Fateh al-Islami, of which Al-Mesmari was a member, ambushed a police patrol in the oasis of Bahariya, killing 16 and injuring another 13.
Case No.160 Military, known as the “Attack on the Oasis Mission,” has 53 accused, including 37 detainees, 10 fugitives, and 6 others who were released on precautionary measures. The primary defendant in the case, Abdel-Rahim Al-Mesmary, was a Libyan national.
Libya Review reviewed some of the confessions of the terrorist Abdel Rahim El-Mesmary, according to the text of the investigations:
The main accused, Abdel-Rahim Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mesmary, recounted the escape flight from the Egyptian security forces in the desert oases after a bloody battle, saying:
“After we settled in the area of Jbeilah, we covered the cars with a blanket like sand, the Egyptian aircraft did not see us, so we decided to settle down because we were very tired of traveling and moving. Before the evening we found a car that came in our direction and then ran quickly. After that, the Apache planes came looking at the place where we were staying for about two hours,” he said.
“After a little bit, we found another security plane checking the place, so we decided to leave. We walked for five days, southwestern direction, heading towards the village of El-Bawiti. We settled in a desert area for two days to maintain our cars and then we started looking for support such as water and gasoline.”
“We tried to erase the traces left by our cars because for security and we walked again. On October 31, 2017, we settled in another mountainous area above the high mountain hill.”
Al-Mismari continued: “On the second day, one of the brothers noticed the arrival of 4 jeeps and people who got out of the cars and examined the car traces, so we knew that they are enemy people and were looking for us. So we fled and we walked three kilometers and suddenly all the cars exploded because of the explosive devices inside them.”
“One of us was injured, but we forgot the “Al-Hayes” officer, I was carrying ammunition and an “F1″ bomb, and another was carrying an RPG.”
“At sunset, after we moved, we were running in a queue, and the last people in the class were Sheikh Hatem and Ahmed Al-Masry,
They stood to rest behind a small mountain, so a plane returned and threw a missile, and the two died,” he said.
The terrorist added: “After the death of Sheikh Hatem and Ahmed Al-Masry, we became seven individuals. We ran south until night, then the flight came and bombed us, and six people died. I was the only one who remained alive.”
“I managed to reach an agricultural area, and I spoke to someone in Libya to get me out of there, so they asked me about my name and who was killed in an incident on October 20, 2017, from my comrades, so I told them everything.”
“After I told them where I was, they agreed that they would send me a person named Khaled. A person came to me while I was sleeping in a mosque and asked me who I was and I did not answer. He threatened me with weapons and reached the police. Then I was arrested.”
The terrorist Al-Mismary revealed during his interrogation in the Public Prosecution regarding the positions that occurred during the terrorist group’s journey, among which two members abandoned them only one day after they entered the desert of Egypt, because of their inability to bear the desert nature, leaving the group and fleeing.
Al-Mismary also confirmed that the terrorist’s father, “Boca”, came to see his son in the desert to check on him, but after seeing him armed, was terrified of his son.
Al-Mismari pointed out that the logistical support official «Ibrahim Ba`rah» insisted on eating dinner with the group in the desert, which was agreed by Sheikh Hatim, where he organised a feast for members of the group and the logistical support official.
Al-Mismari disclosed the reason for the kidnapping of Captain “Mohammed Al-Hayes” because he was bargaining with security to release the family of the terrorist “Boca” after their arrest.
He affirmed that the terrorist “Sheikh Hatem” came out of the camp in the oases region 3 times at night, and brought several supplies, water, and gasoline, as he was carrying a large bag full of Egyptian money.
“There was a money bag that Sheikh Hatem had since we were in Libya and I do not know who gave it to him,” he said.
A police officer, Mohamed El-Hayes, was abducted by terrorists during the shootout, but the Egyptian army and police rescued him in a joint operation later that month.
Following the shootout, Egyptian security forces launched a number of operations targeting hideouts in the Western Desert area, during which numerous terrorists were killed, according to officials.