Egypt's military said it killed 18 suspected Islamist militants in aerial and ground operations in the restive North Sinai region on Tuesday, as part of its battle to quell a long-running insurgency.

The army said in a statement that its forces succeeded in foiling "an attack by takfiri terrorist elements on one of the security complexes" in the town of Bir al-Abd.

Egyptian security officials use the term "takfiri" to designate extremist Islamist militants.

"In cooperation with the air force, security forces managed to chase the takfiri elements across a farm and in abandoned houses killing 18, including one wearing an explosive belt," the statement said.

Two military personnel were killed and four others wounded in Tuesday's operations in Bir al-Abd. Troops also destroyed four cars including three that were packed with explosives.

The town, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of North Sinai's capital al-Arish, has been the site of several terror attacks claimed by the Islamic State group including the deadliest attack in modern Egyptian history, in which more than 300 worshippers were gunned down in a mosque in 2017.

The late Tuesday statement came after videos surfaced on social media purportedly showing plumes of smoke, gunfire and residents screaming for their lives.

AFP could not verify the authenticity of the short clips posted online.

Security forces have been battling a hardened Islamist insurgency in Egypt's northeast Sinai Peninsula spearheaded by a local IS affiliate.

In February 2018, authorities launched a nationwide operation against Islamist militants, focused on North Sinai.

Around 990 suspected militants have been killed in the region along with dozens of security personnel, according to official figures.

Related Links
Space War News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Several wounded in Syria attack on Russian-Turkish patrol
Moscow (AFP) July 14, 2020
Three Russian and several Turkish soldiers were wounded Tuesday in Syria's restive Idlib province when a joint military patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device, Russia's defence ministry said. Russia and Turkey launched the patrols along the M4 highway in March following a ceasefire agreement aimed at stopping heavy fighting in and around Idlib, the last major bastion of anti-government forces in Syria's civil war. The device blew up at 8:50 local time (0550 GMT) as their convoy patroll ... read more