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CAIRO — Egypt has maintained its counter-insurgency offensive in northeastern Sinai.

The military said the crackdown included the capture of 84 suspected insurgents in both Sinai as well as along the adjacent Suez Canal.

The insurgents were said to have facilitated the flow of weapons to Ansar Beit Maqdis from neighboring Libya.

Officials said Ansar joined Palestinians and other Islamists to smuggle weapons and fighters from the Gaza Strip. They said Ansar was being supported by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, believed to have facilitated the flow of fighters from Lebanon and Syria.

“Security forces have destroyed 18 tunnels in recent operations,” the military said.

The military said the Egyptian Army and Central Security Forces were continuing intensive operations near the Sinai border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The military said the offensive focused on the corridor between Rafah and Sheik Zweid, regarded as the stronghold of Ansar.

“Twenty-six militants were killed in battles with security forces between Sept. 20 and Sept. 27,” the military said.

In a statement on Sept. 28, the military said the insurgents were killed in Sinai as well as on the Egyptian mainland. A key operation was said to have taken place in villages south of Sheik Zweid.

So far, at least 18 Ansar fighters were reported killed in the operation near Sheik Zweid. Officials said this included a senior commander of the group, identified as Suleiman Ayed Suleiman and linked to Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood.

  Ansar Beit Maqdis, Egypt focuses attacks on ISIL-backed Ansar militants in Sinai, Rafah, Sheik Zweid