Cairo - Major General Mamdouh Shahin, the Egyptian defence minister's deputy for legislative and constitutional affairs, told MPs on Tuesday that the army is on the brink of eliminating terrorism in North Sinai. In a meeting held by parliament's agriculture committee and attended by governor of Ismailia Yassin Taher, Shahin said that "the elimination of terrorism in North Sinai, which is very near, will pave the way for revoking the emergency measures that have been in effect there since 2013." The army has been battling an intensified Islamist insurgency in North Sinai since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Shahin told MPs that the government and the army are keen on seeing Sinai become an attractive environment for investment. "Sinai will see a lot of progress very soon in terms of economic development after all terrorist elements in this integral part of Egypt are obliterated," said Shahin.
