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Egypt's army kills 85 militants in security campaign in restive Sinai

Xinhua, May 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Egyptian Armed Forces killed 85 militants during a four-day security campaign in the restive Sinai Peninsula, the military spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The vast military campaign has been carried out in areas of active terror activity in Middle and North Sinai," Military Spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a statement.

He added that the raids in North Sinai's cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah also burnt down 190 huts and 57 houses, destroyed 73 hideouts and ruined 10 vehicles used by the militants.

Egypt has been facing growing anti-government terror attacks since the overthrow of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and later blacklisted his Muslim Brotherhood group.

A Sinai-based militant group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional terror group claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist operations that killed hundreds of police and military men over the past few years.

In response, the Egyptian military has been launching a continuous massive security campaign in the peninsula, which left hundreds of militants dead and a similar number of suspects arrested.

The security raids in Sinai are part of the country's "war against terrorism" declared by ex-military chief and now President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's ouster. Endit