Egypt raid kills IS suspects after deadly Sinai attack

Yesterday, 23 Army personnel were killed in a militant attack in the restive North Sinai region.

CAIRO: Egyptian police said they killed 14 alleged Islamic State group members Saturday in a raid on a training camp, a day after the jihadists conducted a deadly attack on soldiers. 

The interior ministry said police officers raided a desert training camp in the eastern province of Ismailiya, killing the 14 alleged militants.

At least five of them had been wanted on charges of joining IS, it said in a statement.

The new recruits were being given physical training and lessons in the use of weapons at the camp, it said.

"When the police approached the camp, the terrorists opened fire on them," it said, adding that 14 terrorists were killed in gun battle.

The raid was part of a security operation launched against terrorists who attacked police and army personnel in North Sinai recently.

Five of the 14 terrorists were being sought by authorities for attacks related to the Islamic State, the statement added.

Funerals were held across the country for at least 21 soldiers killed in Friday's attack in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, one of deadliest against the military in years.

IS has been leading a deadly insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his supporters.

The jihadists had attacked on Friday several Sinai checkpoints with car bombs and heavy gunfire in a coordinated assault, for which IS later claimed responsibility in a statement.

The military said it killed 40 of the assailants and that the attack killed or wounded 26 soldiers, without providing a death toll.

Provincial and security officials said funerals were held for at least 21 soldiers.

Groups other than IS have also carried out attacks in Egypt targeting policemen and judges.

Gunmen on Friday shot dead a National Security Service officer as he was leaving his home north of Cairo.

The militant group Hasam claimed responsibility.

On Saturday, the interior ministry said police killed two senior Hasam members in a shoot out near Cairo.

Separately, two terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in 6th of October city in Giza governorate, the ministry said in an another statement.

The two terrorists belonged to the Hasm group, which has claimed several attacks against judges and policemen near Cairo in the past one year.

Egypt has witnessed terrorist attacks since the January 2011 revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

The attacks, mainly targeting police and military personnel, increased after the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013 by the military following massive protests against his rule.

Hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed since then.

Yesterday, 23 Army personnel were killed in an attack in the North Sinai city of Rafah; more than 40 terrorists were also killed.

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