Fighting terrorism not limited to security campaigns: Egypt's Sisi

Fighting terrorism is not restricted to security confrontation but it is a comprehensive plan including eliminating poverty and ignorance and promoting enlightening and renewed religious speech to deal with misconceptions and extremist thoughts, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday during his monthly televised speech.

"During this month, we arrested 600 terrorist elements... and 122 explosive devices have been defused," said the Egyptian president, adding that the security forces managed to destroy 150 terrorist cells in Sinai within this month.

Sisi's leadership initiated its war on terror due to growing terrorist activities since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. The following crackdown on Morsi's supporters left about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

Since then, extremists and self-proclaimed Islamists who supported the former president, especially those in North Sinai, have begun to attack military and police facilities, leaving hundreds dead.

"The goal of terrorism in Sinai is to make this land not our land," Sisi added, noting that terrorism in Sinai is declining due to the one-kilometer buffer zone created between North Sinai's Rafah city and the Palestinian Gaza Strip and the destruction of about 80 percent of the smuggling tunnels in the area.

The president added that all the studies concerning Sinai development are over and that development projects will soon be launched to provide real work for the Sinai people that will have a great effect in combating terrorism in the peninsula.

The Sinai-based, al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) militant group, which has recently pledged allegiance with the Islamic State (IS) group, claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks over the past couple of years.

Although supported by leading Gulf states, Morsi's removal was opposed by some regional states, particularly Qatar and Turkey, which led to diplomatic tensions between them and the north African country.

Meanwhile, Egypt has joined a Saudi-led military coalition that has been launching airstrikes against the Shiite Houthi fighters in Yemen.

The Houthis, believed to be highly supported by Iran, seized several cities in Yemen and led its President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi flee the capital Sanaa to southern port city of Aden in February and finally to the Saudi Arabia's capital city Riyadh.

"There are states that attempt to impose their agendas and affect our national security," Sisi said during his televised speech. "Again, the Egyptian national security is an integral part of the Arab national security."

He noted that the Egyptian National Defense Council met earlier this month and decided Egyptian naval and air forces will continue participating in the Saudi-led coalition.

With growing terrorist threats regionally and internationally, Egypt found cooperation from most fellow Arab states that agreed in a recent summit to form a joint military force to fight terrorism and maintain Arab national security. The joint force is still in the discussion phase. Endit