Egyptian security forces killed 13 terrorists during a raid on a hideout in the border North Sinai region on Tuesday, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The militants were killed during an exchange of fire with the security forces carrying out the raid on the hideout in El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai, the ministry said.

Police found weapons and explosives in the terrorists’ possession, the statement added.

Egypt is fighting an Islamist terrorist insurgency based in North Sinai, which intensified in 2013 following the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Crushing the militants, who have mainly targeted police and army personnel, and restoring security has been a key priority of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Egyptian security forces launched an extensive security operation in February 2018 to eliminate the militants, killing hundreds of them in raids ever since.