4 killed in Sinai security operation

The Armed Forces said it killed four extremists belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood in a security operation in which “terrorist hubs” were raided in Arish, Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah, according to a statement posted on its spokesperson’s Facebook page.

The statement said the four extremists were killed as they “monitored and reported the Armed Forces’ activities.”

Thirty-six people were also arrested in the operation and different weapons were confiscated.

The Armed Forces also said it destroyed eight tunnels, burned 22 huts and three warehouses belonging to “terrorist elements.”

An explosive device targeting the Armed Forces was also defused, the statement read.  

The Armed Forces spokesperson’s Facebook page is constantly updated with its latest security operations in Sinai, which are aimed at “not only fighting terrorism but also combating illegal immigration and arms smuggling,” spokesperson Ahmed Ali had said last September.

Egypt's military has launched a sustained crackdown on armed groups in the Sinai Peninsula since attacks on security forces increased following the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013.

A toll calculated by state-owned daily newspaper Al-Ahram last December showed that 164 people had been killed and 592 arrested since July 2013. Dozens of others have been killed since December.