18 extremists killed, 129 suspects arrested in Sinai

The latest operation in northern and central Sinai has uncovered 147 caches and several hideouts used by extremists to plan their attacks.

By Mohammed Mahmoud in Cairo

2018-11-01

Egypt's armed forces have seized materials used to make IEDs, detonation circuits and TNT explosives in their latest operations in central and northern Sinai against extremist groups. [Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Defence's Department of Morale Affairs]

Eighteen extremists have been killed in high-level operations carried out in Egypt's Sinai peninsula in the past period, Egypt’s armed forces said in a Thursday (November 1st) statement.

Forces from the Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency killed 10 "extremely dangerous" extremists in al-Arish, North Sinai, military spokesman Col. Tamer al-Refaie said.

One Egyptian officer was killed in these operations, he said.

Meanwhile, the air force killed eight extremists in raids in northern and central Sinai, he said, noting that 129 suspected extremists also have been arrested.

A team of military engineers have defused 141 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and materials used to make IEDs, detonation circuits and TNT explosives were also seized.

"The forces have succeeded in locating hideouts and tunnels used by extremists for planning operations," the statement said. "They destroyed 147 caches in northern and central Sinai where they found books and cassettes promoting takfiri ideology."

The latest operation comes as part of Operation Sinai 2018, which was launched on February 9th to uproot extremists from the Nile Delta and northern and central Sinai.

Restored security

In press statements to Radio Misr Wednesday evening, al-Refaie said life in Sinai has fully returned to normal, with the school year successfully underway, markets open and internal roads secured.

Trucks loaded with food make their way safely to northern and central Sinai, he added.

"Operation Sinai 2018 has restored full control of northern and central Sinai [to the army] and brought life back to normal for the first time in years," MP Nadir Mustafa said.

The armed forces have succeeded in destroying the extremist groups' infrastructure, including their hideouts, caches, workshops and media and communications centres, he told Al-Mashareq.

"In addition to targeting the terrorists’ infrastructure, security agencies were able to collect a large amount of information on terrorist groups in Sinai, enabling them to kill or arrest most of the dangerous elements and to disrupt their methods of recruiting young men," he said.