(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) The Egyptian army said Monday that it had killed 57 "terrorists" over the past ten days in an ongoing campaign against militants based in the restive Sinai Peninsula.
Army spokesman Mohamed Samir said on Facebook that military forces in Sinai had destroyed 32 "terrorist hideouts" in the period from April 9 to 19.
Samir said the army had also arrested 61 people for suspected involvement in "terrorist activities."
Earlier Monday, three Egyptian army personnel were killed when a roadside bomb went off near their vehicle in the North Sinai city of Rafah.
Welayet Sinai, a militant group that swore allegiance to Daesh late last year, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Earlier this month, 13 people were killed in three separate militant attacks in North Sinai.
For almost two years, Egyptian authorities have tried to crack down on militants in the restive Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The campaign comes amid a spike in attacks on security personnel since the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi by the army in mid-2013.
Welayet Sinai, formerly known as "Ansar Beit al-Maqdis," changed its name after swearing allegiance to Daesh, a militant organization that last year captured vast territories in Iraq and Syria.
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