134 Sinai militants killed in 4 days of Egypt operations
The death toll from an ongoing large-scale security operation by the Egyptian army against Daesh-linked Takfiri militants in the country’s violence-wracked Sinai Peninsula has risen to at least 134, Press TV reports.
The army said in a statement that 48 militants were killed on Thursday when government forces continued their offensive against militants in the Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, the city of el-Arish and the border town of Rafah.
Military sources had already announced the killing of at least 86 terrorists since the Egyptian troops launched the major offensive against militant positions across the volatile peninsula on Monday.
This brings the total to 134 militants killed during the ongoing massive operation over the past four days.
The army statement also said that at least two Egyptian soldiers have lost their lives during clashes across the militant-infested region.
The Press TV correspondent in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, says some civilians are also feared dead as they were trapped in the fierce ongoing fighting between the militants and the army.
The latest operation was launched after militants carried out several attacks in major cities across the North African country over the past few months. Egypt has been battling militants in Sinai for years now, but attacks mainly targeting the army and police escalated and spread to the mainland since last year.
Gunmen have intensified terrorist attacks across Egypt, particularly in Sinai Peninsula, over the past year.
Militants from the Velayat Sinai terror group, previously known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks. Last November, the group pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group, which is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria.
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