Egypt says security forces kill 16 jihadists in Sinai

Troops storm hideouts in coastal city of el-Arish two days after a roadside bomb struck a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids outside Cairo, wounding 17

Tourists ride camels during a visit to the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, on May 21, 2019 (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Tourists ride camels during a visit to the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, on May 21, 2019 (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

CAIRO — Egypt says its police forces killed 16 militants in raids in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

An Interior Ministry statement Tuesday says security forces exchanged fire with Islamist fighters as they stormed insurgent hideouts in the Mediterranean coastal city of el-Arish.

No casualties were reported among the police.

The ministry says the extremists had intended to carry out attacks in the city. It says police found weapons, three explosive devices and an explosives belt.

Police inspect a car and a bus that were damaged by a bomb, in Cairo, Egypt, March 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Mohammed Salah)

Egypt has battled Islamist groups for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland.

On Sunday, security forces killed 12 suspected jihadists just hours after a roadside bomb struck a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids outside Cairo, wounding 17.

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