Egyptian security forces launched airstrikes
on Islamist militants' hideouts in Egypt's restive Sinai region on
Friday, killing 20 insurgents, a security official told dpa.
Intensive airstrikes were carried out on mountainous areas where
insurgents are believed to be hiding, the source said.
The security source confirmed that airstrikes and shelling resulted
in the killing of 20 "terrorist elements" who were trying to escape
from the strikes south of the city of Bir al-Abed. He added that the airstrikes are still continuing.
The strikes came a day after Islamist militants killed five people in
two separate attacks in Egypt's volatile Sinai region.
Three of the five were killed in an ambush by gunmen on a road in
central Sinai, the witnesses said.
The other two deaths occurred after a suspected extremist blew
himself up near a military armoured vehicle stationed at a taxi stand
in the city of Sheikh Zweid in the North Sinai province, injuring a
police conscript and a civilian, who later died in hospital.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group.
North Sinai is a hotbed for radical Islamists, who have claimed a
series of deadly attacks on security forces in the largely desert
region
Egypt has battled an insurgency in North Sinai since the 2011
uprising, which toppled long-time autocrat Hosny Mubarak.
The security source confirmed that airstrikes and shelling resulted in the killing of 20 ,terrorist elements, who were trying to escape from the strikes