Egyptian security forces said Saturday that 21 terrorists were killed in clashes within the restive Sinai peninsula, where Islamic State group-affiliated militants have waged a long-running insurgency amidst constant crackdown by the police and military.
The government said two terrorist groups had been planning attacks during the major Islamic holiday – Eid al-Fitr – which starts in Egypt on Sunday.
The interior ministry said in a statement that police raided two hideouts of “terrorist elements” in North Sinai governorate, sparking a gun-battle in which two officers were also wounded.
Security forces had found automatic weapons and suicide belts in the hideouts.
Security forces have been battling a long-running insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula — in Egypt’s northeast — that is spearheaded by a local affiliate of the terrorist Islamic State group.
The fighting intensified after the military’s 2013 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.
In February 2018, security forces launched a nationwide operation against militants, focused on North Sinai.
Around 950 suspected militants have been killed in the region along with dozens of security personnel, according to official figures.
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