Nine killed in Sinai security operation

Nine people have been killed in an exchange of gunfire in Sinai as security forces carry out an operation targeting “terrorist hubs,” Al-Ahram reported Sunday.

The state-owned newspaper quoted a military source saying that it was a “full-fledged war on terror” against Al-Qaeda and militants. The Armed Forces announced earlier on Sunday the launch of a security operation in North Sinai against terrorist strongholds.

Police and the Armed Forces raided and destroyed 118 terrorist strongholds as well as three stores of arms and 33 trucks loaded with weapons, the paper said.

It reported that the army is currently combing the area with the support of special forces trained in fighting terrorism.

The current security operation involves direct confrontations with terrorists, the source was quoted as saying.

Nine people were also arrested and are currently under investigation, Al-Ahram reported, as security forces impose a cordon around the area. 

On Wednesday, eight people were killed and 15 injured in Sinai in an Apache helicopter attack targeting “an extremist stronghold,” the same newspaper had reported, although initial reports on state TV had suggested that 15 people were killed in the attack.