Egyptian security forces kill 16 suspected militants in Sinai
Egyptian security
forces have killed 16 suspected militants in North Sinai and found a stash of
weapons and explosives in their hideouts, the Interior Ministry said in a
statement on Tuesday.
The statement said
they were plotting "terrorist attacks against important facilities and
figures in different places in Arish", which is the capital of
governorate.
The ministry said the
suspects were killed in "armed confrontations", but did not elaborate
on their identity or whether there had been casualties among the security
forces. It did not say when the clashes happened.
Egypt has long been
fighting Islamist militants, who have waged an insurgency that has killed
hundreds of soldiers, police and residents, in the northern part of the Sinai
Peninsula.
President Abdel Fatah
al-Sisi says strong security measures are needed to stabilize Egypt after the
turmoil that followed the country’s 2011 uprising.