CAIRO, April 1, 2018 - Five takfiris have been eliminated in Third Field Army raids on terrorist hideouts and 513 criminally wanted elements and suspects have been rounded up pending due legal action, the Armed Forces has reported. In a communiqué summing up the results of the Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 for the week ending on Sunday, the Armed Forces said that the Air Force, acting upon verified intelligence tips, targeted and destroyed a number of terrorist targets and grouping points. During a shootout with troops raiding an extremely dangerous terrorist hotspot in northern Sinai, a takfiri element was also eliminated, the communiqué said. A total of 993 hideouts and warehouses containing wireless devices, detonating circuits, explosive belts and chemical substances that are usable in making explosives were also destroyed, the Armed Forces said in yesterday's communiqué, the 17th since the start of the operation that aims at clearing north and central Sinai of terrorist elements. Also in pursuance of the Operation Sinai 2018, more than 600 checkpoints and patrols had been deployed in coordination with the Police on main roads and desert hinterlands while 19 vehicles were destroyed or seized during the week-long action, the Armed Forces said in yesterday's communiqué. Sixty four motorbikes without number plates were caught and destroyed in combing and raiding operations, the communiqué added. The military engineers, meanwhile, found and detonated 163 explosive devices. A total of 19 firearms were also seized. The security forces also demolished 84 farms of bango in North Sinai.and foiled infiltration attempts by169 foreign nationals. An officer and a soldier were martyred in the raids, the communiqué said, adding that a non-commissioned officer and a soldier were injured in the operation. Meanwhile, the Sinai University said in a statement yesterday that it decided to resume academic study at its branch in East Qantara next Saturday. The University's administration said that academic study at all the university's faculties in both El Qantara and Arish branches would start next Saturday.
