Egyptian Army soldiers patrol in an armored vehicle backed by a helicopter gunship during a sweep through villages in Sheikh Zuweyid, North Sinai (Photo: Reuters)
Egyptian army forces have killed 10 suspected militants and arrested 11 others during an ongoing offensive against Islamist insurgents in the restive Sinai Peninsula, security sources told state news agency MENA on Friday.
The military campaign- in which air and ground troops were used- hit alleged hideouts of the militants in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, on the border with the besieged Palestinian Gaza strip.
Forces detonated 10 bombs, which they found planted on the road, from a distance.
No injuries resulted from the detonation.
The military have been fighting a growing Islamist insurgency in Sinai for over a decade.
Terrorist attacks against security forces have spiked since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based militant group, has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attacks in Egypt.
In 2014, ABM swore allegiance to the Islamic State group, changing their name to Welayat Sinaa (Sinai Province).
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