Security sources in North Sinai announced on Monday that nine militants allegedly belonging to Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a terrorist group active in North Sinai, were killed during a crackdown by the armed forces and police in south Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah.
The sources said in a press statement on Monday that the security forces exchanged fire with the extremists during a raid on a reported terrorist hotbed in the village of al-Lefaitat, south Sheikh Zuweid, killing six.
Two others were killed during a raid on the village Al-Toma, south Sheikh Zuweid, and one was killed at Al-Joura village, south Sheikh Zuweid.
Intense confrontantions between the security forces and militants have been ongoing in North Sinai since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 by former Defense Minister and current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
