CAIRO: Egyptian security forces have killed 13 suspected militants in a shootout in Al-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, state news agency MENA said on Tuesday.
The government in February launched an operation against Daesh militants who have waged years of attacks on security forces and civilians, killing hundreds.
MENA said the suspects were killed after opening fire on security forces who approached them in a house under construction in Al-Arish, which they used as a hideout, MENA said.
Ammunition, explosives and weapons were found at the scene, the report said. It did not identify the suspects.
The report did not mention any casualties or wounded among the security forces.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ordered the armed forces in November to defeat militants within three months after an attack on a mosque in Sinai killed more than 300 people.
Defeating extremists and restoring security after years of unrest has been a promise of El-Sisi, who was re-elected in March in a landslide victory against no real opposition.
El-Sisi’s critics say his presidency has brought a harsh crackdown on dissent, but supporters say such measures are needed to stabilize Egypt, which was rocked by years of unrest after protests toppled veteran leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Egyptian security forces kill 13 suspected militants in shootout in Sinai
Egyptian security forces kill 13 suspected militants in shootout in Sinai
- The suspects were killed after opening fire on security forces who approached them in a house under construction in Al-Arish
- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ordered the armed forces in November to defeat militants after an attack on a mosque in Sinai
UN chief says those behind ‘unacceptable’ Homs attack must face justice
- France says the "terror" attack is designed to destabilize the country
UNITED NATIONS/PARIS: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly attack on Friday prayers at a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, and said the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
“The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable. He stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
The explosion killed at least eight worshippers at a mosque in a predominantly Alawite area of Homs, with an Islamist militant group claiming responsibility.
France also condemned the attack, calling it an “act of terrorism” designed to destabilize the country.
The attack “is part of a deliberate strategy aimed at destabilizing Syria and the transition government,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
It condemned what it said was an attempt to “compromise ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability.”
The attack, during Friday prayers, was the second blast in a place of worship since Islamist authorities took power a year ago, after a suicide bombing in a Damascus church killed 25 people in June.
In a statement on Telegram, the extremist group Saraya Ansar Al-Sunna said its fighters “detonated a number of explosive devices” in the Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in the central Syrian city.
