Egyptian troops have killed and injured three alleged militant fighters in fresh raids in the border Sinai Peninsula, where the military is waging a campaign to root out Islamist insurgents, state news agency MENA reported.

Six suspects were also arrested during the raids in the North Sinai towns of Al-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, security sources said, adding that 32 shacks and buildings used as bases for terrorist attacks and 16 motorbikes belonging to the insurgents were destroyed in the offensives.

Egypt has been hit by an upsurge in Islamist militancy led by Sinai-based fighters that has mainly targeted security forces since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer and an ensuing crackdown on his supporters.

Militants have also struck Cairo and the Nile Delta with bombings and shootings.

On Tuesday, at least five policemen and four alleged smugglers were killed during a shoot-out with gunmen on a coastal highway near a northern Egyptian town.

At least five children were killed in two North Sinai towns last month in rocket attacks at their homes that apparently targeted soldiers and police fighting with suspected militants in the area.





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