[News] Egypt kills seven militants in Sinai Peninsula

Egypt’s military killed about seven suspected militants in a raid carried out as part of its operations against insurgents in the restive Sinai Peninsula. The Egypt army said “The armed forces carried out a targeted operation that resulted in the killing of seven takfiris” employing a term used by Egyptian authorities for extremist Islamic militants.

It also added that the raid was part of “ongoing efforts of the armed forces to combat terrorism and based on intelligence indicating the presence of a terrorist outpost on a farm in North Sinai”. During the raid, one suspected militant killed while six others died after troops tracked them to a hideout.

About 10 explosive devices, four explosive belts, several rifles and ammunition as well as various mobile phones and walkie-talkies were seized by the army as a result of the operation.

Egypt Army has been battling a long-running Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula – in Egypt’s northeast – that is spearheaded by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group. The fighting intensified after the military’s 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Two years ago, security forces launched a nationwide operation against militants, focused on North Sinai. More than 930 suspected militants have been killed in the region along with dozens of security personnel, according to official figures.

Meanwhile, Turkish military also killed two workers of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in a counter-terrorism operation in northern Iraq on Saturday. “Two PKK terrorists, who were detected in northern Iraq’s Zap and Avachin region during the reconnaissance and surveillance activities, were neutralized by airstrikes,” the defense ministry said. “Our operations against the terrorist organization PKK continue resolutely,” it added.

Turkish army often use the word “neutralized” in statements to imply terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. Turkish security forces have long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq where the group has hideouts.