Special to WorldTribune.com
Egypt has intensified its effort to quell the terrorist threat in the Sinai Peninsula, killing more than 60 jihadists in the past two weeks.
On Jan. 3, an operation that included attack helicopters, fighter jets and ground forces killed at least 25 terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) affiliate in Sinai.
Egyptian army spokesman Mohamed Samir said some 26 “Takfiri elements” had been killed in the towns of El Arish, Rafah, and Sheikh Zuweid in the Jan. 3 operation against the Sinai Province terror group. Several others were detained at security checkpoints, Samir said.
Last week, Egypt’s army said it had killed 40 ISIL-linked jihadists in northern Sinai.
The Sinai region has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, following a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 33 Egyptian security personnel.
Meanwhile, at least four Egyptian soldiers were reported killed in a Jan. 5 shelling attack carried out by jihadists in north Sinai.