CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces killed 30 suspected militants in ground and air raids in North Sinai conducted over the past four days, the military said in a statement on Friday.

Egypt faces an Islamist insurgency led by the Islamic State group in the Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013.

 The military statement said 30 "highly dangerous" militants were killed and five others arrested in the raids, though it did not name a specific militant group or release names of those killed.

 This month Egypt was hit by one of the worst attacks on its security forces in years when 23 soldiers were killed after two suicide car bombs were detonated in North Sinai.

 

 (Reporting by Mostafa Hashem; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Tom Brown)</s>Egypt's ground troops in a full-scale offensive against militants in North and Central Sinai on Friday, February 9,2018- Phoro courtesy of the Armed Forces Spokesperson's Facebook page

CAIRO – 14 April 2018: The Armed Forces foiled a major terrorist attack, which occurred at the early hours of Saturday in central Sinai, Military Spokesperson Tamer el-Refae announced.A group of 14 terrorist elements, four of which were carrying automatic and medium-caliber rifles attempted to break into an armed forces camp.Having been strapped with explosives, the four terrorist elements blew themselves up near the camp, which led to the killing of eight armed forces officers.Egypt extended its nationwide state of emergency for three months as of April 14, according to the official gazette.Sinai 2018 is being carried out by the Armed Forces, in cooperation with the combat units of the Interior Ministry, since Feb. 9. These anti-terror units continue to launch raids targeting terrorist hideouts, as well as arms and ammunition warehouses in Northern and Central Sinai, according to the statement.Since the ousting of ex-Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has seen growing waves of extremism washing over the society and spawning numerous deadly attacks. Among these attacks was the terrorist attack that hit Al-Rawdah Mosque and left more than 302 Friday prayers congregates dead in late November 2017.A month earlier, the Interior Ministry announced that 16 security officers were killed during clashes with militants in Wahat in the Western Desert; the clashes also led to the killing of 15 militants.</s>Egypt's army said terrorists wearing explosive belts tried to storm a military camp in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday in an assault that left eight soldiers and 14 attackers dead.

The militants blew themselves up outside the camp after they were prevented by security forces from entering, an army statement said.

"The armed forces were able today to foil a large terrorist operation," the military said.

Saturday's attack comes two months after the launch of a massive operation against militants in Sinai as well as parts of Egypt's Nile Delta and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya.

More than 100 extremists and at least 22 soldiers have been killed in an ongoing operation launched on February 9 against the terrorists, according to army figures.</s>Eight Egyptian soldiers and 14 militants are reported to have been killed in fighting in central Sinai on April 14.

An army statement said the militants, some carrying explosive belts and grenades, attacked a military checkpoint at around dawn.

Four of them detonated their explosive belts, killing the soldiers and wounding 15 others, the army statement added.

The attack was the largest against Egyptian security forces since President Abdel el-Sisi won a second term in office last month.

It also came just hours after the country extended a state of emergency imposed last year.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters</s>Eight Egyptian soldiers and 14 militants were killed in fighting in central Sinai on Saturday when gunmen carrying explosive belts and grenades targeted a military checkpoint, the army said.

The attack was the largest against Egyptian security forces since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won a second term in office last month, promising to work for stability and security in Egypt.

It also came just hours after the country extended a state of emergency imposed a year ago.

The militants attacked the checkpoint at around dawn, an army statement said. Four of them detonated their explosive belts, killing the soldiers and wounding 15 others, it added.

Egypt has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since Sisi ousted Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, after popular protests against Mursi’s rule.

Sisi in November ordered the military to defeat militants in north Sinai within three months, after an attack on a mosque that killed more than 300 people, the deadliest such incident in the Arab world’s most populous country.

The military launched what it said was a major operation against the militants in February, a month before Sisi was re-elected in a vote featuring just one other candidate, a strong supporter of the president.</s>CAIRO - Eight Egyptian soldiers and 14 militants were killed in a confrontation in central Sinai on Saturday, the army said in a statement.



Egypt has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.</s>Egypt: According to the information given by the military personnel, in an incident that took place in central Sinai killed at least eight Egyptian soldiers and 15 others got injured in a terror attack on a military camp. While explaining the incident to the media, military spokesperson Tamer al-Refaay went on to say: "A group of 14 militants, four of them wearing explosive belts, attempted to break into one of the armed forces camps in central Sinai before the sunrise."…

Egypt: According to the information given by the military personnel, in an incident that took place in central Sinai killed at least eight Egyptian soldiers and 15 others got injured in a terror attack on a military camp.

While explaining the incident to the media, military spokesperson Tamer al-Refaay went on to say: “A group of 14 militants, four of them wearing explosive belts, attempted to break into one of the armed forces camps in central Sinai before the sunrise.”

In the confrontation, the security forces foiled the attack by killing all the terrorists, media reported.

Earlier in the day, the Egyptian armed forces announced 27 militants were killed and 114 others arrested in the latest raids in Sinai Peninsula as part of the country’s anti-terror military operation “Sinai 2018”.

More than 190 militants and at least 22 soldiers had been killed in the massive operation launched on February 9. Attacks are rarely carried out in central Sinai.

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been the centre of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Most of the terror attacks were carried out by a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group.</s>At least eight soldiers were killed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Saturday amid an ongoing security operation in the restive region, according to the Egyptian military.

A group of 14 militants armed with explosive vests, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) attacked a military camp in central Sinai at dawn on Saturday, military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said in a statement.

He said military forces engaged the attackers, killing the 14 militants.

According to the spokesman, eight soldiers were killed and 15 others injured when some of the attackers detonated their explosive vests.

Saturday’s attack came as Egyptian authorities extended a state of emergency for three months, which was first imposed in April of last year after a twin church bombing claimed by Daesh terrorist group that killed dozens.

The attack comes as security forces continued a major offensive against militants blamed for a string of attacks across the country.

On Saturday, the military said its forces killed 27 suspected militants as part of the security operation that began on Feb. 9.

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a militant insurgency since 2013, when the army ousted Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt's first freely elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader -- in a military coup.</s>The military says it was able to 'foil a large terrorist operation'

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt's army said jihadists wearing explosive belts tried to storm a military camp in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, April 14 in an assault that left 8 soldiers and 14 attackers dead.

The militants blew themselves up outside the camp after they were prevented by security forces from entering, an army statement said.

"The armed forces were able today to foil a large terrorist operation," the military said.

Jihadists who have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group (ISIS) have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen in the Sinai since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, following mass protests against him.

More than 100 jihadists and at least 22 soldiers have been killed in an ongoing operation launched on February 9 against the jihadists, according to army figures. – Rappler.com</s>Eight Egyptian soldiers and 14 militants were killed in fighting in central Sinai on Saturday when gunmen carrying explosive belts and grenades targeted a military checkpoint, the army said.

The attack was the largest against Egyptian security forces since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won a second term in office last month, promising to work for stability and security in Egypt.

It also came just hours after the country extended a state of emergency imposed a year ago.

The militants attacked the checkpoint at around dawn, an army statement said. Four of them detonated their explosive belts, killing the soldiers and wounding 15 others, it added.

Egypt has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula since Sisi ousted Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, after popular protests against Mursi’s rule.

Sisi in November ordered the military to defeat militants in north Sinai within three months, after an attack on a mosque that killed more than 300 people, the deadliest such incident in the Arab world’s most populous country.

The military launched what it said was a major operation against the militants in February, a month before Sisi was re-elected in a vote featuring just one other candidate, a strong supporter of the president.of the president.

In other news meanwhile, an Egyptian court upheld on Saturday a life sentence against Mohamed Badie, the leader of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, over 2013 violence, judicial sources said.

The court of cassation, Egypt’s top court, rejected an appeal by Badie and others against verdicts issued against them last May in the case known in local media as “the Rabaa Operations Room” trial.

The case relates to a sit-in in Rabaa to support ousted President Mohamed Mursi who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood. The sit-in, which began after the army ousted Mursi following mass protests against his rule, was forcibly dispersed by security forces, leaving hundreds dead.

Badie and two others were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case, 15 others were sentenced to five years while 21 people were acquitted, sources said.

The defendants were charged with leading an illegally founded organization, plotting to stir chaos and publishing false news among other crimes.

Authorities outlawed the Brotherhood after Mursi was ousted, and arrested thousands of its supporters. They also dissolved its Freedom and Justice Party, which Mursi led.

Decisions made by the court of cassation are final and cannot be appealed. Saturday’s life sentence is the third against Badie
The Egyptian military says 14 terrorists attacked a Sinai military base today, with four of them blowing themselves up and killing eight soldiers.