Armed forces spokesman Tamer al-Rifaai said on Thursday that forces also arrested five militants and 680 others including “criminal elements” and people suspected of supporting militants. The operation, announced on Friday, covers north and central Sinai and parts of Egypt’s Nile Delta and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya. Militant attacks have generally surged since the 2013 military ousting of elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. The violence has been concentrated in northern Sinai Peninsula but has also spread to the mainland.

Source: Irish Independent February 15, 2018 12:33 UTC