Egypt forces kill 10 extremists in Sinai

At least ten extremists were killed on Friday during security raids on their hideouts at Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid cities in Egypt's North Sinai province, a security source told Xinhua.

"The security campaign also arrested 11 suspects and the authorities are currently interrogating them to detain those involved in armed activities," the source added.

The raids destroyed three buildings, two workshops, six vehicles, 16 motorbikes and 17 huts all belonging to extremists wanted over terrorist activities, according to the source.

"The raids also ruined a farm used as a hiding place for militants and defused 10 handmade explosive devices planted on Sheikh Zuweid roads to target security forces during their passage," he said.

Terrorist activities mounted in Egypt since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the army in July 2013 and the following security crackdown on his loyalists that left about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

On the other hand, hundreds of police and army personnel were killed in anti-government attacks carried out by extremist and self-proclaimed Islamists.

Most of the attacks took place in the restive peninsula but they extended to reach the capital Cairo and other provinces across the country.

The Sinai-based Al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which has recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State regional militant group and changed its name into "Sinai State," claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks in Egypt. Endit