Egypt arrests 28 terrorist suspects in restive Sinai

The Egyptian army in cooperation with police forces arrested 28 terrorist suspects during raids in North Sinai along the borders of Israel and Gaza, the military spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.

"During the raids, the forces defused an explosive device near Arish's public hospital while air forces targeted two pickup trucks belonging to the extremists in Rafah city," said military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay in the statement.

The raids came a week after blasts in Sinai province killed 10 military personnel, including three officers and seven soldiers, while security raids killed 15 militants and officers arrested seven others.

In the past couple of days, confrontations between security forces and terrorists in North Sinai killed four security men and injured six others, with 13 terrorists killed and 38 suspects arrested.

Since the beginning of March, security campaigns in the province have killed at least 58 militants, arrested about 220 suspects over terror-related charges.

Anti-government terrorist attacks in Egypt killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

Later, security crackdowns on Morsi's supporters left hundreds dead and thousands arrested, while his Muslim Brotherhood group was designated as a "terrorist organization."

Most of the terrorist attacks nationwide, particularly those in Sinai, have been claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group.

Security campaigns in Sinai have killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects over the past few years as part of the country's anti-terrorim war declared by former army chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's removal. Endit