Egypt’s army said Monday it had killed 83 militants in clashes in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where an ISIS group affiliate has waged a long-running insurgency.
Security forces “eliminated 77 takfiris”, referring to the extremists, who were found with stacks of weapons and ammunition in north and central Sinai, the army said.
Six other “highly dangerous” militants were killed in shootouts in the region, the army said in a statement on a nationwide antimilitant operation between September 28 and November 4.
Three soldiers were killed or wounded in the fighting, the statement added, without elaborating.
About 61 “criminals, wanted individuals and suspects” were arrested, it said.
Security forces also destroyed dozens of hideouts and vehicles as part of the ongoing operation, according to the statement.
Egypt has for years been fighting an insurgency in North Sinai that escalated after the military’s 2013 ouster of extremist president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests.
In February 2018, the army and police launched a nationwide operation against militants, mainly focused on North Sinai.
The operation also targets other areas including the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.
The latest army figures brings the death toll of suspected militants in the Sinai region to more than 830.
About 60 security personnel have been killed since the start of the offensive.
Following the death of ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi late last month, the group’s North Sinai affiliate has pledged allegiance to his successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi.
Also Read
-
ISIS affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai swears allegiance to new ISIS leader
Egypt’s ISIS affiliate, Sinai Province, has sworn allegiance to the new leader named by the group following the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ... Middle East -
Egypt officials: 1 policeman, 13 militants killed in Sinai
Egyptian officials say a police conscript has been killed in a militant attack in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. They say the ... North Africa -
Egyptian officials say nine killed in explosion in north Sinai
Egyptian security and medical officials say an explosion in a town in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula has killed at least nine people of the same ... Middle East -
Egypt says security forces kill 15 militants in Sinai
Egypt said on Sunday its police forces have killed 15 suspected militants in a raid in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.An Interior ... Middle East
