Egypt’s Armed Forces spokesperson Tamer al-Refaei said Sunday that the army killed a top Islamist militant, or takfiri, element in North Sinai in the latest military operations against armed militants in the restive peninsula. Refaei said in a statement that the army arrested two others suspected of supporting terrorist elements in central Sinai. Refaei said that Egypt’s army is continuing their efforts to pursue criminal elements in the Sinai by combing terrorist outposts and conducting raids. Since 2013, North Sinai has seen an intensification of clashes between the state and terrorist cells, prominent among which is the Islamic State-affiliated Sinai Province. In response, army and police forces have carried out counter-terror operations to curb militant activity in the area.

Source: Egypt Independent December 10, 2017 14:26 UTC