Cairo, Jun 17 (IANS): Eight extremists were killed Monday in fierce clashes with the Egyptian military in Sheikh Zuweid city in north Sinai province, security officials said.
Troops raided two jihadist hideouts in the city, close to the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip, killing eight militants, Xinhua quoted security officials as saying. One soldier was also wounded in the raids.
The raids were part of a massive security campaign in the Sinai Peninsula where terrorist attacks escalated following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the military last July. Dozens of extremists were killed and hundreds arrested as a result.
The removal of the popularly-elected Islamist president angered extremist groups, which have been launching terrorist attacks against security personnel and facilities in Sinai, the capital Cairo and some other provinces.