Egypt claims army killed 18 ISIS jihadists in Sinai after attack

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According to the Egyptian Interior Ministry, security forces killed 18 suspected jihadists on the Sinai Peninsula, two days after a deadly attack on the army claimed by the Islamic State group.

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"  The national security department has received information about a group of terrorists who have taken refuge in a house in Bir al-Abd  ", a city in North Sinai province, the ministry said in a statement in the night from Saturday to Sunday.

The security forces, the statement added, went there on Saturday and "  targeted and killed 18 terrorists after an exchange of fire with them  ". Weapons and explosives were found in the house.

Ten soldiers "  killed or wounded "

This operation comes two days after an attack claimed by the Islamic State group against an Egyptian army vehicle in Bir al-Abd, in which ten soldiers were "  killed or injured  ", according to the military authorities who did not give more details on the balance sheet. The day after the attack, the army had already announced that it had killed two presumed " very dangerous  " jihadists  in Sinai.

Egyptian security forces have been working for years to contain the insurgency in northern Sinai, which includes a local group affiliated with ISIS. According to unverifiable official figures, since the launch in February 2018 of a large-scale counterterrorism operation in and around the region, more than 800 suspected jihadists and 70 soldiers have been killed in clashes.

(with AFP)

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