The armed forces said on Saturday that they arrested three alleged extremist amid the ongoing military operations fighting terrorism in the region, military spokesperson Tamer Al-Refaei said in a statement. According to the statement, the military forces of the third field army attacked a den of extremists and destroyed 2 vehicle and 8 motor bikes. Since 2013, state security forces, represented by both the army and the police, have been engaged in violent clashes with "Sinai Province", a group previously known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis. In 2014, the group declared its affiliation with the Islamic State (IS) and has launched deadly attacks on army and police checkpoints. Over the last two years, the Egyptian armed forces have launched counter-attacks against militants' stationing points across the Sinai Peninsula, where the group is based in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid, Rafah, and Al-Arish. A state of emergency in North Sinai was first declared in 2013 by then-interim president Adly Mansour, who came into power following the ouster of Morsi. It has been extended following this year's extremist attacks on Coptic churches during Palm Sunday.
