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.
Egyptian security forces kill 21 terrorists planning Eid-ul-Fitr attack
An Egyptian police Vehicle is parked inside a cemetery after the former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was buried in Cairo on June 18, 2019. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)