Egypt's military has destroyed eight terror bastions in central Sinai and arrested 11 suspected militants, spokesman for Armed Forces, Colonel Tamer Refai said in a statement on Friday. "Law enforcement forces of the Third Field Army continued their efforts in pursuit of terrorists in Sinai, seizing five vehicles and two loaders used by the jihadi groups in terror attacks," the statement read. This comes within the framework of Egyptian army's continued operations to cleanse Sinai Peninsula of terror groups. Since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 amid mass street protests, a string of deadly bombings have targeted police and military personnel, particularly in the restive Sinai. Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers were killed and injured in the attacks. All the attacks were claimed by the Sinai Province, an offshoot of the so-called Islamic State (IS). Egyptian observers say the IS affiliate has strong ties to the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. Joint forces of the military and police launched an operation code-named ‘Martyr's Right' that killed and wounded hundreds of militants. They also established a buffer zone on borders with Gaza Strip and destroyed underground tunnels in a bid to thwart flow of weapons and militants from the Hamas Movement-controlled enclave. Early April, Egyptian army announced it utterly cleansed Jabal al-Halal region, 40 km from North Sinai capital city of El Arish. The district was widely known as a haven for terrorists and outlaws. It also contained tens of weapon and ammunition depots, the army announced.
