Update: Militants killed in military raid in Sinai

Twenty-five militants have been either killed or injured in a military raid in a village in North Sinai, military spokesperson Colonel Mohamed Ahmad Ali wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. 

Ali said that the army had identified the terrorist group in North Sinai responsible for killing 16 Egyptian soldiers last August and the kidnapping of seven others in May this year. The raid was planned to target members of this group. 

An eyewitness from the Sheikh Zuwayed area, where the raid carried out mostly by Apaches took place, told privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that the military had been sending planes to the village since Saturday to target a group of militants there. Militants reportedly responded by firing anti-aircraft explosives and four people were injured in the clashes. 

The raid came on the heels of a controversial attack south of Sinai's Rafah border area on Friday afternoon, in which four militants were killed. While eyewitnesses saw Apaches flying over the area, the Associated Press reported that an Israeli drone conducted the raid, citing anonymous Egyptian security sources. Some Israeli media reported that the militants were targeted as they planned an attack on southern Israel. 

The Egyptian military spokesperson vehemently denied that an Israeli drone conducted an attack in Egypt's airspace and said that the army was still investigating the details of the bombing. 

On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said in response to the news about drones that Israel respects Egypt's sovereignty. 

"The State of Israel is aware and appreciates increased activity by the Egyptian military recently against terrorism across the Sinai Peninsula, including this weekend. We know it is fighting first and foremost to protect the citizens of Egypt and Egyptian sovereignty. We will not allow for rumors or speculations that have been spreading over the last 24 hours to harm the peace accord between the two countries," Yaalon was quoted as saying in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper. 

On Saturday militant groups organized a funeral procession for the four men killed on Friday, as the militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes announced on its website that the attack had targeted them. 

Ansar Beit al-Maqdes is known to be a militant group operating in Sinai that is inspired by Al-Qaeda. 

The Egyptian military had announced that it was stepping up its presence in Sinai to combat increasing activity by militants. In the past month, militants have staged attacks on military checkpoints and police stations almost on a daily basis. 

On Sunday, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported that unknown armed men fired a missile at a police club and hotel in the North Sinai city of Arish, injuring a soldier. 

While privately-owned media outlets in Egypt linked attacks in Sinai to the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood — the group he belongs to — said the attacks are being staged by the army to justify its power grab on July 3. But the security void experienced in Sinai is more commonly attributed to the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, as police retreated from the area and it became a safer haven for certain militant groups.