News / Egypt

Egyptian army kills 14 Daesh-linked terrorists in restive Sinai

Monday, 06 February 2017 5:34 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 06 February 2017 5:39 PM ]

An Egyptian policeman stands guard on Cairo's Tahrir Square on January 25, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Egyptian army soldiers have killed 14 militants linked to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and arrested ten others in the country’s restive Sinai Peninsula.

A spokesman for Egypt’s military made the announcement on Monday, adding that three car bombs and 10 other explosive devices had been destroyed during operations over the past five days in central Sinai.

The military also seized weapons, communication devices and military clothing from the Daesh-linked Velayat Sinai terrorist group.

The Sinai Peninsula has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, following a deadly terrorist attack that left 33 Egyptian soldiers dead. Over the past years, militants have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in Egypt after the democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted by the military in July 2013.

Velayat Sinai Takfiri terrorist group -- previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis -- which pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group in 2014, has been responsible for most of the attacks in the Sinai Peninsula as well as Cairo.

On January 9, a car bombing targeted a checkpoint in the city of el-Arish, the provincial capital and the largest city of North Sinai, killing nearly a dozen policemen.

Militant activity in central Sinai is less frequent than in its more restive north, where terrorist attacks on military and police checkpoints are common.

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