9 Militants Killed, 9 Arrested In Sinai: Military Spokesman

Nine militants have been killed and nine others arrested during a military operation in North Sinai on Saturday, Egypt’s military spokesman Ahmed Ali announced via Facebook.

Ali stated that the military destroyed three arms storages, 107 huts, as well as several cars used by militants as a base for their attacks.

A security source told Reuters’ Aswat Masriya earlier Saturday that ten militants were killed and 20 injured during Saturday’s operation.

The source said that militant casualties are expected to increase as Egypt’s security forces continue its crackdown against militancy in Sinai, where violent attacks on security checkpoints and facilities have become frequent since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The military campaign has largely targeted militants in North Sinai’s towns of Sheikh Zwayed and Rafah, the source said, where daily attacks have killed dozens of army and police personnel since Morsi’s ouster in July.

In August, 25 police conscripts were killed when militants ambushed a personnel carrier near Rafah.

Sinai has suffered from a security vacuum since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak over two years ago, but militant attacks have increased in frequency since July.

Source : Ahram