Egypt's Sisi lauds efforts of army, police in combating terrorism

CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi praised on Friday the efforts of the army and police forces in their fight against terrorism.

According to a military statement, Sisi's remarks came during his visit to a military air base in the country's Sinai Peninsula, a hotbed for Islamist terrorists.

The major operation, dubbed "Sinai 2018," was launched weeks before Egypt starts its 2018 presidential elections scheduled for late March, when Sisi is expected to make an easy win for a second term due to the lack of strong challengers in the race.

During the visit, Sisi met members of the Egyptian armed forces and police who have been taking part in anti-terror military operation recently in Sinai, according to the statement.

Sisi expressed high appreciation for the "national role of the Egyptian armed forces and police in fighting terrorism."

The Egyptian president also revealed that the government had finished establishing a civilian airport in Sinai that is meant to develop the restive peninsula.

Bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, Egypt's North Sinai province has been the center of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.

Attacks later spread to several other provinces including Cairo and started to target the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings.

Most of the terror attacks were carried out by the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai state or province), a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group. Enditem