32 terrorists killed in army raids in Sinai

Egyptian defence forces have killed 32 terrorists and destroyed 272 militant hideouts during raids at various places in the restive North and Central Sinai in the past few days, the Army said.

The raids were part of the "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018", a major operation launched by the Egyptian defence forces in February to flush out insurgents and bring an end to the terrorism in the Sinai region.

"The Egyptian army killed 32 terrorists in different raids in North and Central Sinai during the past days," a statement from the Army said.

Also, 96 suspected and wanted terrorists were arrested during the operation, nine of them are very dangerous akfiri terrorists, it added.

The forces also raided and destroyed 272 militants' hideouts, which contained munitions and explosive devices, the statement said.

Last month, 19 terrorists were killed and 20 others were arrested in army raids in the Sinai Peninsula region.

According to figures released by the military, 318 militants and 37 military personnel have so far been killed in the operation.

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicentre of a militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt's first-ever freely elected president -- was ousted in a bloody military coup.

The Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (Supporters of the Holy House") was the name of a jihadist extremist militant group which operated in Sinai Peninsula. It carried out attacks on Egyptian security forces. The group, in November 2014, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, becoming its branch and renaming itself as ISIL-Sinai Province.