Egypt’s police killed 21 terrorists in shootouts in North Sinai. The interior ministry said the terrorists had planned to carry out attacks during Eid El-Fitr holiday.

The Ministry of Interior said on Saturday the police carried out the raid after Egypt's national security apparatus had received information that a terrorist group were using a farm in North Sinai as a hideout in which they were plotting and training for attacks.

Some of the terrorists were also using a house in Bir El-Abd area as a foothold from which they were planning to launch terrorist attacks during Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the ministry said.

Both the house and the farm were raided concurrently, and during the shootouts 14 terrorists were killed in the farm. The ministry said police found 13 automatic rifles, three explosive devices, an explosive belt, and a wireless radio in their possession.

At the Bir El-Abd house shootout the police killed seven terrorists and found four automatic rifles, two explosive devices, and an explosive belt.

According to the interior ministry, two police officers were wounded during the raid.

Egypt has been fighting an Islamist militancy based in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula that has gained pace since 2013.

Hundreds of security personnel were1 killed in attacks claimed by militants, while the military has killed hundreds of extremists as part of an extensive campaign to crush the militancy in the border region.

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