Egypt army kills 40 militants in Sinai raids

At least 40 militants were killed in military raids on terrorist hideouts in North Sinai province of Egypt, the army said on Tuesday.

"Egyptian security forces killed 40 highly dangerous militants in ground and air raids in North Sinai cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid," Xinhua news agency quoted an army spokesperson as saying in a statement.

"Five other militants were arrested in the raids," he said.

Egypt has been battling anti-security activities, mostly centred in Sinai peninsula, since the army-led ouster of former Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in 2013, which left hundreds of police and army personnel killed.

"During the security operation, 20 different type of vehicles and four motorbikes were destroyed," the statement said.

Large amount of explosives, weapons and some documents were also seized, with 52 shelters for hiding medical and communications equipment destroyed, it said.

Egyptian military has waged since 2013 wide-scale operations to uproot extremist strongholds in Sinai killing hundreds of militants who belong to a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) militant group.

--IANS

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