Egypt forces kill 14 militants in wake of bloody Sinai massacre

Egyptian security forces have killed at least 14 militants in two separate operations in the wake of the massacre at a mosque in the northern part of the restive Sinai Peninsula last week that killed over 300 people.

 

Egyptian security forces have killed at least 14 militants in two separate operations in the wake of the massacre at a mosque in the northern part of the restive Sinai Peninsula last week that killed over 300 people.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said that security forces killed at least 11 “terrorist elements” during a raid on a suspected militant hideout in the Sinai-bordering province of Ismailia. The area was being used by militants to train and store weapons and logistical equipment for attacks in North Sinai.

Police also arrested six suspected militants and three people thought to have smuggled communications equipment to them.

Security forces were able to identify “a group of these elements and the hideouts they were using to hide, train, and store means of logistic support ahead of smuggling them to terrorist groups in North Sinai,” the statement said, adding that weapons, ammunition and communication devices were recovered during the operation.

Police were pursuing the leaders of “terrorist groups in North Sinai that aimed to carry out a series of hostile operations targeting important and vital buildings and Christian churches,” the statement said.