Off the wire
Firefighters battling California's wild fire on Christmas Day  • Yearender: Iraq's victory over IS overshadowed by growing crisis with Kurdish region  • Egypt keen to reach fair deal on Ethiopia's Nile dam: minister  • Russia bans opposition leader from running for presidency in 2018  • Russian Mutko to appeal Olympic ban  • City of Athens offers Christmas meal, joy to homeless, poor  • 20 Saudi officials, princes accused of corruption released after accepting financial settlement  • Israel PM thanks Guatemalan president over Jerusalem embassy relocation  • Urgent: 5.3-magnitude quake hits 179km NNE of Auki, Solomon Islands -- USGS  • UAE's Emirates Airline suspends flights to Tunis  
You are here:  

Egyptian army kills 12 terrorists in Sinai

Xinhua,December 26, 2017 Adjust font size:

CAIRO, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian army announced Monday that its troops have killed 12 terrorists in the terror-hit Sinai Peninsula in the past days.

The Egyptian army launched several anti-terror operations in central and northern Sinai in cooperation with the Egyptian Air Force, the army's spokesman said in a statement.

A terrorist was arrested during the operations in Sinai, where eight hideouts were discovered, the statement said.

A motorcycle, an explosive charge and weapons were seized by the army, it added.

The operations were conducted as part of the intensified efforts by the Egyptian armed forces to eradicate terrorism.

Egypt has been fighting against a wave of terrorism that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military toppled former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

Terror attacks used to be centered in North Sinai before spreading nationwide and targeting the Coptic Christian minority as well. Most of the attacks were claimed by a Sinai-based terror group loyal to the regional militant group Islamic State (IS).

The Egyptian military and police have also killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects as part of the country's anti-terror war. Enditem