Operations in Sinai against militancy are ongoing, as the armed forces spokesperson announcing the killing of 13 militants in clashes in North and central Sinai. According to the latest statement from the armed forces spokesperson, released on Wednesday, 18 suspects were arrested, including a number of extremists and others wanted for criminal cases. Military engineers found and destroyed explosive units that were set to target security forces. Similarly, IEDs (improvised explosive devices) were confiscated and dismantled. In the western desert, seven suspects were killed in an operation. The forces also destroyed vehicles that were set up to target security forces, and found automatic rifles, and an unspecified amount of ammunition. Egypt has been battling several armed groups, concentrated mainly in the Sinai Peninsula, since the ouster of Islamist former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Since then, shootings that target security personnel and state officials have become a near-weekly occurrence in Egypt. In November 2017, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi vowed to restore stability by eradicating terrorism, placing the military and police in charge of completing the task within a period of three months. This had followed a massive first-of-its-kind terror attack on a mosque in the city of Al-Arish, which killed at least 305 citizens.
