Egypt forces kill 4 militants, arrest 23

The Egyptian security forces killed four militants and arrested 22 others during Sunday's raids in restive North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement Monday.

"The raids that took place on Sunday killed four extremists, busted a fifth with a gun machine and arrested 22 other suspects," military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in the statement, adding the campaign destroyed three hiding places of the armed extremists.

Earlier in mid-February, at least three Egyptian soldiers were killed in Mount Halal area as a roadside bomb targeted their armored vehicle, while security raids killed three militants and arrested three others.

Growing anti-government terror attacks in Egypt killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

Later, security crackdown on Morsi's supporters killed about 1,000 of them, arrested thousands others and blacklisted his Muslim Brotherhood group as "a terrorist organization."

Since the beginning of the year, at least 25 police and military personnel have been killed in blasts and confrontations nationwide. Most of the terrorist attacks were claimed by a Sinai-based militant group loyal to the regional Islamic State group.

Security campaigns in Sinai killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects over the past few years as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by former army chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's ouster.

Military Intelligence Chief, Gen. Mohamed Farag al-Shahhat, said during a military-held symposium earlier in February that at least 500 extremely dangerous terrorists have been killed since a massive anti-terror campaign, known as "The Martyr's Right," started in September 2015.

Source: Xinhua