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Three militants killed in gunbattle in Sinai Three militants shot dead Wednesday in exchange of fire with security forces in Sinai; army kills two others and shelled two homes earlier in the day
Three militants have been killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in the northern Sinai Peninsula, as Egyptian troops continue an ongoing offensive to root out growing militancy in the restive region. The militants were killed late Wednesdayafter they opened fire at security forces in an armoured vehicle in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, state news agency MENA reported. Earlier Wednesday, the Egyptian army said its troops killed two militantsin an air offensivein the peninsula and destroyed two homes it said belonged to other“dangerous” militants. Attacks targeting police and military in the Peninsula have become commonplace since the army ousted former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 amid nationwide protests. The military said one of the homes destroyed in the raid was used as a militant hideout and weapons depot, while the other was owned by a suspected militant connected with a recent missile attack that downed a military helicopter in the peninsula, killing five soldiers. The Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group, which has claimed responsibility for most of the deadly militant attacks across the country, said its fighters shot down the helicopter. Two other suspected jihadists were killed during the air bombing raid that targeted militant hideouts in the volatile region, a military spokesman said. Radical Islamists have expanded amid the lawlessness of the peninsula, adjoining Israel and the Gaza Strip, following the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Egypt's army has poured troops and armour into the region to flush out militants who have stepped up their attacks, particularly in recent months. Scores of policemen and army presonnel have been killed since. A series of deadly bombings targeting police in Cairo last week—also claimed by Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis—has heightened fears that militant violence is taking hold outside Sinai. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92994.aspx
