8 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai terror attack

At least eight Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 others wounded in a terror attack on a military camp in central Sinai, the military said on Saturday.

"A group of 14 militants, four of them wearing explosive belts, attempted to break into one of the armed forces camps in central Sinai before the sunrise," military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in a statement.

In the confrontation, the security forces foiled the attack by killing all the terrorists, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement.

Earlier in the day, the Egyptian armed forces announced 27 militants were killed and 114 others arrested in the latest raids in Sinai Peninsula as part of the country's anti-terror military operation "Sinai 2018".

More than 190 militants and at least 22 soldiers had been killed in the massive operation launched on February 9. Attacks are rarely carried out in central Sinai.

Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has been the centre of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Most of the terror attacks were carried out by a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group.

--IANS

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