A military offensive in Egypt's North Sinai on Monday resulted in five suspected militants killed and three arrested, Army Spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali announced. Ali, in a statement on his official Facebook account, said 34 primitive structures used by militants to launch attacks against army and police personnel were burned. Three motorcycles, two cars, and a mini-truck with no license plates, used by the militants were also destroyed. The armed forces have been carrying out offensive to combat a growing insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, leaving dozens of militants killed. Attacks on police and military targets in the region have intensified since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Scores of police and army personnel have been killed since then. The latest army offensive comes in the wake of a terrorist attack targeting a tourist bus in South Sinai. The attack, which left at least four dead, is unprecedented as it is the first attacking tourists since Morsi's ouster. Recent attacks in Cairo and the Nile Delta have been claimed by the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis. Last month, four explosions hit police targets in Greater Cairo, killing six and injuring at least 80. Source : Ahram online
