Egypt Military Says 36 Takfiris Killed in Sinai

Egypt’s military said Monday that soldiers and police have killed 36 takfiris over five days as part of a sweeping operation against ISIL terrorist militants in the Sinai.

The army launched the campaign on February 9 after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is standing in elections this month for his second term, gave it a three-month deadline to crush ISIL in Sinai.

Security forces “eliminated 30 armed takfiri elements during a shootout with raiding forces” in the northern and central Sinai Peninsula, the military said in a statement.

A police shootout also left six “takfiri elements” dead and destroyed “an extremely dangerous terrorist cell”, it added.

Over the past five days, soldiers also arrested 345 people “including a number of extremely dangerous takfiri elements and fugitives,” it said.

Sisi issued his ultimatum in November after suspected ISIL gunmen massacred more than 300 worshippers at a Sinai mosque associated with Sufi Muslim mystics.