Egypt’s Armed Forces announced on Friday that its has killed 65 “terrorists” in Egypt’s North Sinai.
According to the Military’s spokesperson, the air and ground raids, which are part of an operation that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of “terrorists”, took place near Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid. The airstrikes targeted both militant positions and infrastructure used by terrorist groups, added the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, in areas around Egypt’s border with Libya, identified by the Military as the ‘Western region’, at least 12 vehicles used by smugglers were destroyed in airstrikes. The Military’s spokesperson did not clarify whether anyone was killed in these airstrikes.
A video (see below) released by Egypt’s military provides a glimpse into the latest raids.
This latest stage of Operation Right of the Martyr comes just a week after the Military announced it had killed 60 terrorists and injured another 40 in airstrikes in Egypt’s North Sinai. These airstrikes targeted positions held by Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis (also known as Wilayat Sinai), which pledged allegiance to ISIS in November 2014.
Two weeks ago, 15 Egyptian policemen were killed in North Sinai in an attack claimed by Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis.
Violence has plagued Egypt’s North Sinai since the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.
An estimated 2100 people were killed in North Sinai in 2015, including roughly 1800 described by the military as “terrorists,” 150 civilians, 40 police officers and conscripts, and 140 military personnel.
The year 2016 has seen a rise in both attacks and counter-terrorism operations with more than 200 militants killed since the start of the year.
Comments (0)