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Egypt army troops kill 14 militants in restive Sinai

Arab World Materials 25 August 2014 21:17 (UTC +04:00)
A military official says Egyptian armed forces have killed 17 militants during separate operations in the violence-plagued Sinai Peninsula of the North African country.
Egypt army troops kill 14 militants in restive Sinai

A military official says Egyptian armed forces have killed 17 militants during separate operations in the violence-plagued Sinai Peninsula of the North African country, Press TV reported.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohamed Samir stated on Monday that the militants were killed in multiple exchanges of fire with Egyptian soldiers in North Sinai on Sunday.

He added that a dangerous wanted militant called Suleiman Mohamed Sallem Salama was among those arrested.

A field hospital and bomb workshop allegedly used by the militants were also destroyed during Sunday operations, Samir pointed out.

On Saturday, Egyptian troops detained four wanted militants in the border towns of Sheikh Zuweid, situated 334 kilometers (214 miles) northeast of the capital Cairo, and Rafah.

Sinai Peninsula has long been considered as a safe haven for gunmen who use the region as a base for their acts of terror.

Since the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on July 3 last year, gunmen have launched almost daily attacks on the peninsula, killing members of security forces.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically-elected president, was toppled in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt's current president and the then army commander.

Following Morsi's ouster, Sisi announced his candidacy for the nation's presidency and was sworn in as president after winning an election in which less than 50 percent of eligible voters participated.

Sisi is accused of leading the suppression of Muslim Brotherhood supporters as hundreds of them have been killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces over the last year.

Rights groups say the army's crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has left over 1,400 people dead and 22,000 arrested, while some 200 people have been sentenced to death in mass trials.

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