Egypt kills 241 Sinai militants

Cairo // Egypt’s military killed 241 militants in the Sinai from July 1-5, including ISIL militants who launched spectacular attacks last week.

The military has poured troops and armour into the peninsula where security forces have been fighting an extremist insurgency since then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, after vast protests against his rule.

On July 1, militants from ISIL attacked the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid — the scene of regular militant attacks — in which dozens were killed.

The military said 21 soldiers were killed in those attacks, after several media outlets reported higher tolls from security officials.

In figures released on Monday by the army spokesman on his Facebook page, the military said its forces killed 241 militants between July 1 and 5.

Four wanted militants and 29 suspected militants were also arrested.

Sixteen crude bombs were detonated, while 26 cars and 28 motorbikes belonging to militants were destroyed over the same period, the army said.

On Facebook, the army also posted photographs of dead militants, some even displayed on military tanks.

On Saturday, Mr El Sisi made a surprise visit to North Sinai, where in an address to troops at a camp whose location was not disclosed he said the region was now “totally stable”.

Most of the attacks on the security forces are claimed by a group calling itself “Sinai Province”. Formerly known as Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, it changed its name when it pledged allegiance to ISIL last November.

Elsewhere, Egyptian authorities arrested 13 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on suspicion of planting bombs around the Suez Canal to disrupt shipping, security sources said on Monday.

The waterway, the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, is a vital source of hard currency for Egypt.

The security sources said the men formed a 13-member cell that included an employee at the Suez Canal Authority.

Prosecutors had ordered that they be detained for 15 days and said they had planted bombs in areas including sanitation and electricity facilities as well as on beaches.

Last week Egyptian security forces stormed an apartment in a western Cairo suburb and killed nine men whom they said were armed, the interior ministry said.

*Agence France-Presse and Reuters