29 militants killed, 133 arrested in Egypt

May 02, 2015 05:57 pm | Updated 05:57 pm IST - Cairo

Twenty nine militants have been killed and 133 others arrested in army raids in Egypt’s volatile North Sinai region, military said on Saturday.

The raids were conducted in Rafah, Al-Arish and Sheikh Zawayed cities between April 20 and 30, said army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir.

He said 133 militants were arrested, while 51 militant hideouts were destroyed during the raids.

About 130 unlicensed vehicles and motorcycles used by militants to carry out attacks on police and army personnel were also destroyed, the spokesperson said in a statement.

The restive North Sinai region has witnessed several violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

More than 500 security personnel have been reported killed in militant attacks since then.

The military has launched security campaigns in the area, arrested suspects and demolished houses that belonged to terrorists, including those facilitating tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.