At least seven militants were killed by security forces in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
Egypt's Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Sunday said intelligence personnel indicated that the militants were taking shelter in Al-Galala mountain in Suez, a base from which they plotted and launched attacks against security forces, Xinhua reported.
After engaging in a heavy shootout with the extremists, security forces killed all seven members and later identified them to be members of Sinai-based terrorist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Ibrahim added.
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis rose to prominence after former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013.
The Al Qaeda linked group has claimed responsibility for various attacks against the army and police forces in the region.
The militant group is mainly active in northern Sinai, Greater Cairo and the Nile delta.
