Twenty nine militants have been killed and 133 others arrested in army raids in Egypt’s volatile North Sinai region, military said on Saturday. The raids were conducted in Rafah, Al-Arish and Sheikh Zawayed cities between April 20 and 30, said army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir. He said 133 militants were arrested, while 51 militant hideouts were destroyed during the raids.
About 130 unlicensed vehicles and motorcycles used by militants to carry out attacks on police and army personnel were also destroyed, the spokesperson said in a statement. The restive North Sinai region has witnessed several violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.