Egypt army says 16 Islamic State terrorists killed in Sinai operation

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s military said Sunday 16 jihadists, an officer and a soldier were killed in the past four days during a major military operation against Islamic State group terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula.

The army launched a sweeping campaign after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who is running in elections for his second term this month, gave it a three-month deadline to crush IS in Sinai.

He issued his ultimatum in November after suspected IS gunmen massacred more than 300 worshipers in a Sinai mosque associated with Sufi Muslim mystics.

Since the military, then led by Sissi, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, security forces have sought to quell attacks by the Egypt branch of IS.

The terrorists have killed hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians, mainly in North Sinai but also elsewhere in Egypt.

They have also killed scores of Christians in church bombings and shootings, as well as bombing a Russian airliner carrying tourists from an Egyptian resort in 2015, killing all 224 people on board.

The military says it has evidence IS has sought to move members to Sinai following its defeats in Iraq and Syria.