Three 'militants' killed in shootout in Ain Sokhna

Ahram Online , Thursday 11 Sep 2014

The shootout is the latest in government efforts to quell over a year-long Islamist insurgency

Egyptian troops on Thursday killed three militant fighters in a shootout near the Red Sea resort of Ain Sokhna, a military source told Reuter’s Aswat Masriya.

The men made their way from Sinai, a hotbed of Islamist insurgency, through mountainous and desert areas as part of a plan to travel to Cairo and Suez to target security forces, the source said.

Six militant suspects were arrested in the firefight with assistance from tribesmen, the source added.

Egypt's military has been fighting an Islamist insurgency based in the border Sinai Peninsula that has worsened since the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Militant attacks have mainly targeted police and the armed forces but have also led to civilian casualties.

Last week, eleven policemen were killed in a blast near the North Sinai town of Rafah, adjoining the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

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