CAIRO: A total of 205 militants were killed by the Egyptian army in the past three days, following the Wednesdaysimultaneous attacks on military checkpoints in North Sinai, armed forces spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a statement Saturday.
Security forces are combing North Sinai towns of Arish, Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafahin search for“terrorist dens”, the statement said, adding that the armed forces used “mortars and fighter aircrafts to pound militants’ hideouts in Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah.”
Claimed by the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM,) the attacks have killed 17 military personnel, Samir said in a statement Wednesday.
Dressed in military uniform, President Abdel-Fatah al-visited the army troops in North Sinai Saturday to express his “recognition for the army’s efforts in its fight against terrorism,” Sisi said in a televised speech aired Saturday.
Egypt has witnessed a significant rise in militancy since the military-backed ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule.