Egyptian army kills 40 rebels in North Sinai

CAIRO: At least 40 militants have been killed in Egyptian army’s major ground and aerial offensive in the volatile North Sinai region, a day after 15 soldiers and two civilians died in separate attacks by Islamist militants.
The army launched ground and aerial offensives against terrorists’ hideouts in the south of Sheikh Zuweid, killing the militants, an official said on Saturday.
Twenty militant headquarters and seven vehicles belonging to the terrorists were also destroyed in the offensive yesterday, the official said.
“There are countries that support terrorists and provide them with money and weapons,” the unidentified official told the Al-Ahram Arabic newspaper.
The official said five militants were arrested during the ground offensive that followed the airstrikes.
“The air raids will continue in different parts of North Sinai,” the official said.
The raids came a day after the simultaneous terrorist attacks on Thursday on five army checkpoints in North Sinai that killed 15 soldiers and two civilians.
Sinai-based terrorist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which recently pledged allegiance to Islamic State militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Egypt’s Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
The attacks targeting police and military officials increased after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
More than 500 security personnel have been reported killed in such attacks since then.
The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses belonging to militants, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip. (PTI)