5 militants of an IS-linked group killed in Egypt

Five militants belonging to an Islamic State-linked local jihadist group were killed today in army raids in Egypt's restive North Sinai governorate.
The militants were killed in cities of Al-Arish, Sheikh Zwayed and Rafah, army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said.
The militants belong to the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an extremist militant group which took an oath of allegiance to the dreaded Islamic State terror outfit on November 10 last year.
They were among others who recently, abducted a policeman and killed him in North Sinai, Samir said.
The army also destroyed 24 militant hideouts and 30 unlicensed motorcycles and vehicles used in terror attacks during the raids, he added.

Egypt's Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled the ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Over 500 security personnel have been killed since then.
Last year Egypt declared a three-month state of emergency and a curfew in different parts of Sinai following a terror attack that left at least 31 soldiers dead in October.
The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belong to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.