Sinai clashes leave 10 Egypt troops, 15 militants dead
Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has remained epicenter of deadly insurgency since 2013 military coup
CAIRO
Ten Egyptian security personnel, including three army officers, were killed while carrying out a security operation in Egypt’s volatile Sinai Peninsula, an Egyptian army spokesman said Thursday.
“Our forces raided a terrorist outpost in central Sinai, which led to the killing of 15 Takfiris [extremists] and arrest of seven others,” army spokesman Tamer al-Refai said in a statement.
“While pursuing the terrorists, two army vehicles struck roadside bombs, leading to the martyrdom of three army officers and seven other military personnel,” al-Refai added.
Sinai has remained the epicenter of a deadly militant insurgency since 2013, when Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely-elected president, was ousted in a bloody military coup.
In the almost four years since the coup, hundreds of Egyptian security personnel have been killed across the restive peninsula.
Egyptian security forces, meanwhile, continue to wage a fierce campaign -- involving elements of both the police and army -- against what they describe as Sinai-based "terrorist groups".
Egypt’s army-backed authorities say they are battling the Welayat Sinai ("Province of Sinai") group, which is alleged to have links with the Daesh terrorist group.
Reporting by Mohamed Mahmoud;Writing by Mahmoud Barakat
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