Egypt says 450 jihadists killed in Sinai offensive

CAIRO — The Egyptian army says Tuesday that 450 jihadists are estimated to have been killed in its eight-month offensive against the Islamic State jihadist group in the Sinai Peninsula.

The military launched a large-scale operation dubbed “Sinai 2018” in February to rid Sinai of IS jihadists after an attack on a mosque in the north of the peninsula that killed more than 300 people.

Since the start of the campaign, 450 jihadists were presumed to have been killed “in the north and the center of Sinai by [soldiers] and police,” army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai tells AFP.

According to army figures, around 30 soldiers have been killed during the operation.

Jihadists began an insurgency in Egypt after the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was forced out by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule and that of his Muslim Brotherhood.

— AFP