The Egyptian army announced the killing of seven terrorists, Takfiris, in a security operation in North Sinai, eastern Egypt, where the Egyptian branch of ISIS is operating.
"In continuation of the armed forces' efforts to combat terrorism and based on intelligence information that a terrorist outpost was present at a farm in North Sinai, the army carried out a qualitative operation that resulted in the killing of seven Takfiri inpiduals,” according to a statement by the military spokesman for the Egyptian armed forces on Friday.
The statement mentioned the seizure of a four-wheel drive vehicle, a weapon, a number of motorcycles, ammunition, phones and radios.
For years, Egypt has been facing an escalation in the activities of extremist Islamists in North Sinai, which has intensified after the ouster the late Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 in the wake of mass popular protests.
Since February 2018, the Egyptian forces have launched a massive campaign against armed and extremist groups in the region and in other regions of the country.
Since the campaign began, more than 930 suspected jihadists and dozens of soldiers have been killed, according to army statistics.
Egyptian Army Launches Sinai 2018 Operation
On February 9, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced a new major military operation dubbed "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018" to purge country from terrorism.
Sinai, in particular, has been a staging ground for militants operating in Egypt for decades. It is also believed to be home to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s Egyptian branch (ISIS), which has been primarily targeting Christians and security forces in the area.
A few hours later that day, the army spokesperson Tamer el-Refai released the army statement "Communique 1 from the General Command of the Armed Forces" on state TV. It details the launch of the operation and the state of high alert raised across different governorates.
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Terrorists Killed in N. Sinai, Egypt[/caption]
The security measures have been stepped up in the vicinities of national and investment projects, vital state facilities, electricity and water stations, places of worship, and tourist sites, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA).
The state television then broadcasted live footage of the comprehensive operation to combat terrorism, named "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018", in North and Central Sinai. The footage showed air attacks on terrorist hideouts as well as maritime and border work being carried out to cut supplies to the terrorist elements.
Sisi Proud of Sinai 2018
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi tweeted saying he is proud to following up on the military operations that were announced by the army and the police on Friday, which aim at uprooting terrorism across the country.
https://twitter.com/AlsisiOfficial/status/961898296561360896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E961898296561360896&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.egypttoday.com%2F
“I proudly follow up the heroic acts of my sons in the armed forces and the police to purge the land of precious Egypt from terrorist elements who are enemies of life ... And always #LongLiveEgypt,” Sisi stated on his official Twitter account on Friday.
The state’s top religious authorities declared their full support for the "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018".
Al-Azhar called upon all the Egyptian people to “support our brave armed forces and security personnel in confronting these terrorist and criminal elements, which have terrorized innocent citizens,” Al-Azhar said in its statement.
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Col. Tamer Al-Rifai, the military spokesperson of the Egyptian Armed Forces said 10 gunmen were killed in an attack in North Sinai.[/caption]
The statement added that Al-Azhar praises the courage of army and police personnel to "make precious sacrifices for the sake of spreading security in all parts of Egypt."
Additionally, the Coptic Orthodox Church declared its support for Egypt’s operation in Sinai countering terrorism.
In this regard, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) urged the international media to stick to credibility and accuracy in reporting on the "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018" that was announced to purge the country from terrorism.
The SIS statement called on foreign media outlets to obtain all the facts and information from the army spokesperson, Armed forces leaders and the Interior Ministry official sources and to avoid inaccurate information published by non-official sources
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