Ten killed in Sinai anti-terror offensive

Egyptian security forces have killed 10 militants and arrested 20 others in the Sinai desert, Egypt’s state-run media said Sunday, as the army launched a fresh operation aimed at eliminating terrorist activity in the peninsula.

The army began Operation Desert Storm in the northern Sinai on Saturday in an effort to restore order to the area, which has seen an uptick in anti-army activity since the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi in early July.

Military personnel from two field armies were reported Saturday to be blocking roads, bridges and tunnels leading from northern Sinai to other Egyptian regions. The Egyptian navy and air force were also taking part in the operation, according to Egypt’s state-run Middle Eastern News Agency.

According to Egyptian intelligence, there are at least 500 armed extremists operating in the peninsula, Al Ahram reported.

Most of the violence in Sinai has been concentrated in the northern peninsula, where terror elements, some believed to be working with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, have attacked police checkpoints and other military outposts over the last three weeks.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was forced out of power along with Morsi, has denied playing a part in the escalating violence, but one of the group’s leaders was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that the insurgent attacks would end as soon as “the legitimate president” was freed from detention.

On Thursday, terrorists killed two soldiers and wounded four others in a shooting attack on a military checkpoint.

On Wednesday, a car bomb detonated near a police training camp close to the northern Sinai city of el-Arish, killing three militants.
Also in the north of Sinai on Wednesday, Islamists attacked security checkpoints in el-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, killing a civilian and a soldier. Three troops were wounded, security officials said.

Altogether, a total of 17 members of the security forces and at least five civilians have been killed in the area since the July 3 overthrow.