Egypt’s army destroyed a number of militant hideouts in troubled North Sinai’s Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid cities in raids on Friday morning, an army spokesman said.

The army executed the offensive based on information about the hideout locations, the spokesman's statement said.

The offensive was “retribution for the blood of the martyrs of the army, police and innocent citizens."

The army did not provide details about the number of militants killed, but Sky News Arabia’s reporter in Sinai said the army had killed 60 militants and injured 40 others.

Last Saturday, a terrorist attack on a checkpoint in North Sinai’s Arish city resulted in the death of 15 police personnel.

The North Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Egyptian forces are grappling with an Islamist insurgency based in North Sinai governorate which spiked following the 2013 ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.

The insurgency has killed hundreds of Egyptian security forces, while the armed forces have said their operations have killed hundreds of militants in the area.

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