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 attack, which took place late on Monday in the town Sheikh Zuweid, also wounded three other policemen who were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Separately, the officials say security forces killed 13 suspected militants in a raid on Tuesday in the Mediterranean coastal city of el-Arish’ el-Obour neighborhood.

They say police found weapons and explosives in the hideout, and forensic teams are now identifying the bodies. Weapons including explosive devices, rifles and guns were found, it said, without giving the date of the operation.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to talk to reporters.

Egypt has for years been fighting an insurgency in North Sinai that escalated after the military’s 2013 ouster of president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests.

The military has launched a nationwide offensive since February 2018 against extremist militants focusing on North Sinai where a local affiliate of ISIS is based.

Some 750 suspected extremists and around 60 soldiers have since been killed, according to official figures.