Egypt’s Armed Forces have released one of the most emotional episodes yet of the documentary series “Hekayat Batal” (A Hero’s Story), revealing for the first time the final moments of Major General Maged Saleh and Brigadier General Maged Shaker, two senior military engineers martyred during the 2014 Arab Sharkas counter-terrorism raid.
The episode, published on the official pages of military spokesperson Brigadier General Staff Gharib Abdel Hafez, revisits the operation that targeted a heavily terrorist cell hiding inside an industrial warehouse in the village of Arab Sharkas in Qalyubia province.
According to the documentary, intelligence reports received before dawn on 19 March 2014 indicated that terrorists’ inside the compound were planning a new wave of assassinations and attacks after already being to the bombing of Cairo Security Directorate headquarters.
From the outside, the site appeared to be an ordinary carpentry workshop.
Inside, investigators later discovered a fully equipped factory used to manufacture explosive belts and improvised bombs.
Raid before sunrise
The documentary reconstructs the violent confrontation that erupted shortly after security forces launched the raid at around 5am.
According to testimonies from officers involved in the operation, one of the most dangerous moments came when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt emerged towards advancing troops.
At that point, Major General Maged Saleh and Brigadier General Maged Shaker were called forward to neutralise the threat.
Both men were among the military’s most experienced bomb disposal specialists.
Witnesses said they succeeded in securing and disabling the explosive belt without casualties among the force.
But the episode’s strongest moments come not from the battle itself, but from the personal testimonies surrounding the officers’ final hours.
One officer recalled seeing Major General Maged Saleh looking quietly at a memorial wall inside the battalion one day before the mission.
“God willing, I hope I deserve to have my name among them,” he reportedly said.
Another testimony describes Brigadier General Maged Shaker pausing while putting on his military boots before deployment.
“My heart feels heavy,” he told colleagues. “I feel something is going to happen today.”
Al-Magedan
According to the documentary, both officers performed dawn prayers shortly before departure, then advanced towards the warehouse entrance as the operation entered its most dangerous stage.
Hidden terrorists suddenly opened intense fire.
Both officers were fatally wounded while continuing the mission.
Despite the shock of losing two of its most senior engineering officers, military forces pressed ahead with the operation, eventually killing terrorists and securing a large explosives cache inside the compound — preventing what officers described as a potentially devastating attack.
The film also highlights the exceptional status both men held within Egypt’s Military Engineering Corps.
So respected were they among colleagues that the operation itself later became informally known as “Al-Magedan” — a reference to “the two Mageds”, as fellow officers affectionately called them.
The documentary closes with one of its most emotional testimonies.
“I have only cried twice in my life,” one colleague says.
“The day my father died… and the day Major General Maged Saleh and Brigadier General Maged Shaker were martyred.”
