Africa

Home page

Africa

18 extremists killed in security raid in Egypt's Sinai

03 September 2014 17:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least 18 extremists were killed on Wednesday in a security raid on their hideouts in Egypt' s North Sinai province.

"The security forces waged two raids in Sheikh Zuweid city and killed 18 militants, most of whom belonged to al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group," the security source said, noting that the extremists had four vehicles equipped with artillery and explosives.

The raids came right after unknown militants shot an Egyptian officer dead on Wednesday in North Sinai's Arish city. In nearby Rafah city, at least 11 policemen were killed Tuesday as extremists targeted a police armored vehicle by planting an explosive device underneath.

Over the past couple of days, the security forces in the restive Sinai Peninsula killed a dozen of extremist militants in response to their attacks against police and security targets.

Militant attacks have surged in Sinai and other provinces including the capital Cairo since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013 and the following harsh crackdown on his supporters that left at least 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which is branded by Egypt and the United States as "a terrorist organization," claimed responsibility for most of the attacks against the security personnel.