CAIRO: Egyptian security forces killed 12 militants in gunbattles and arrested 92 suspects, while airstrikes destroyed dozens of militant targets in Sinai, the army said in a statement carried on state television on Monday.
Based on army statements, around 28 militants have been killed since Friday in the latest offensive to crush insurgents blamed for a string of attacks. The latest statement said airstrikes had hit at least 60 militant targets.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who is seeking re-election in March, ordered the armed forces in November to defeat militants within three months after an attack on a mosque killed more than 300 people, the deadliest such incident in the Arab world’s most populous country.
The insurgency poses the greatest challenge to the government in a country that is both the most populous in the Arab World and a main regional ally of the US.
Sisi was elected for his first term in 2014 after the army ousted President Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.
Gunbattles, airstrikes in Sinai as Egyptian forces hit militants
Gunbattles, airstrikes in Sinai as Egyptian forces hit militants
Italy urges its citizens to leave Iran, be vigilant across Middle East
- The ministry said travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged
- It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution
ROME: Italy’s foreign ministry on Friday urged its citizens to leave Iran and advised extreme caution across the Middle East, citing persistently unstable security conditions.
“Italians in (Iran) for tourism or whose presence is not strictly necessary are urged to depart,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged.
It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution and remain vigilant.
Several governments have issued similar warnings in recent days. Britain said on Friday it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran and closed its embassy amid rising regional tensions.
The United States has built up a large military presence across the Middle East ahead of a possible strike on Iran, as talks between the two countries over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions continue with no sign of a breakthrough.
