Egypt army says it killed 4 jihadists in Sinai
In ongoing campaign to quash Islamic State’s local branch, military says it arrested 250 ‘wanted and suspected criminals’ in recent days
CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s military said on Sunday it has killed four jihadists in Sinai in recent days, in an ongoing campaign to quash the terrorists based in the peninsula.
Two suspected jihadists and 250 “wanted and suspected criminals” have been arrested, it said in a statement.
More than 100 jihadists and at least 22 soldiers have been killed in the wider-ranging operation launched on February 9, according to army figures.
Security forces have sought to quell attacks by an Egyptian terror group that later declared allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS) since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, following mass protests against him.
The group has killed hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians, mainly in its North Sinai stronghold but also elsewhere in Egypt. The jihadists have also killed scores of Christians in church bombings and shootings.
The army launched a sweeping campaign after recently reelected Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi 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.
The jihadists 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.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
