Egypt army says 52 suspected militants killed in Sinai
Egyptian security forces pressing a campaign against
Islamist militants have killed 52 suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula in
operations in which three soldiers also died, the army said Monday.
The military launched a sweeping operation in
February focused on the Sinai in eastern Egypt aimed at wiping out militants,
including from Daesh (ISIS), who have been waging a bloody insurgency.
On Monday, the military said that 52
"takfiris" or Sunni Muslim extremists were killed in two separate
operations by security forces in the restive peninsula.
Three members of the armed forces were also killed
in these operations, it said in a statement, without stating when they took
place.
The military has regularly reported operations in
the Sinai since it launched the campaign.
According to official figures, a total of more than
350 suspected militants and at least 30 soldiers have been killed in the
"Sinai 2018" campaign.
Security sources said last week that local Daesh
leader Abu Hamza al-Maqdisi had been killed in an air raid on the Sinai. The
group confirmed his death.
Militants have killed hundreds of police officers
and soldiers in the Sinai since the army ousted Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi
in 2013.
