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Egypt reports successes in Sinai operation

February 12, 2018
Egyptian Army's Armored Vehicles are seen on a highway to North Sinai during a launch of a major assault against militants, in Ismailia, Egypt, in this undated handout picture. — Reuters
Egyptian Army's Armored Vehicles are seen on a highway to North Sinai during a launch of a major assault against militants, in Ismailia, Egypt, in this undated handout picture. — Reuters

CAIRO — Egypt's military says it has destroyed dozens of targets, killed 16 militants and detained over 30 suspects as part of its latest security operation in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, where Islamic militants are most active.

Army spokesman Col. Tamer El-Rifaai said on Sunday that vehicles, weapons caches, communications centers and illegal opium fields were targeted in the sweep.

The operation, which targets "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations," started on Friday and involves army and police forces. It covers north and central Sinai, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.

Militant attacks increased dramatically in Egypt since the military's 2013 ouster of elected but divisive Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Violence has been concentrated in north Sinai, but has also spread to the mainland.

"The air force targeted and destroyed 66 targets used by terrorist elements to hide from air and artillery attacks," for shelter during raids by security forces, he said in a statement. With North Sinai closed off for non-residents and journalists, the army's casualty figures could not be independently confirmed. Telephone connections to the area, both mobile and landlines, are often shut down as well.

The operation, which targets "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations," involves land, naval and air forces from the army and police, and covers north and central Sinai, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.

The offensive comes ahead of a March vote that will undoubtedly see President Abdel Fattah Eel-Sissi win a second four-year term, after all serious opponents have been sidelined or driven out of the race.

In November, extremists killed 311 worshipers in a mosque attack in north Sinai, the deadliest such killing in Egypt's modern history, prompting El-Sissi to give security forces a three-month deadline to restore order using "all brute force" required.

But the militants launched another brazen attack in December, firing a missile at a helicopter that was part of the entourage of Egypt's defense and interior ministers, who were in the provincial capital El-Arish on an unannounced visit. Neither minister was in the aircraft when the attack took place but the missile killed an officer and wounded two others.

Meanwhile, two militant groups that have carried out previous attacks on security forces denounced the new operation in statements posted online.

The group known as Hasm urged Egyptians to unite against the "traitorous regime" which was "digging its own grave" by "declaring open war on Sinai."

Another group, called Liwaa El-Thawra, said the offensive, involving tens of thousands of troops, was a sign the government was losing control of Sinai, where it vowed to continue it struggle.

Authorities believe both groups, which have been designated as terrorist organizations by Egypt and the United States, to be splinter groups of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. — AP


February 12, 2018
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