Egypt's military says 10 militants killed in North Sinai

Troops raided a hideout and confiscated weapons, explosives and communications equipment

Egypt's military has beefed up its forces in North Sinai, where ISIS-affiliated militants have been waging an insurgency. Reuters

Egypt's military has said troops killed 10 militants in a raid on their hideout in North Sinai and recovered weapons, ammunition and radio equipment.

Hand grenades, explosive belts, TNT explosive and rocket launchers were among the items found at the hideout, which was located by military intelligence, the army said in a post on its Facebook page.

One of the men nearly escaped with an injury, but was arrested before he could flee, the army said. He was carrying a machine gun and two spare ammunition belts.

The military will keep the bodies of the militants until the necessary legal procedures are completed, the army said.

Egypt’s armed forces have recently ramped up anti-terror operations in the politically volatile province of North Sinai.

Militants have been particularly active near the towns of Al Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, two Bedouin locales that are less than 100 kilometres from Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.

The military reported three militant attacks in the Sinai peninsula in the past month. An officer and 10 soldiers were killed and five others injured in an attack on May 7. Another attack on May 11 killed five soldiers. Both attacks were claimed by ISIS.

Soldiers foiled the third attack, on a military checkpoint near the town of Al Toloul in North Sinai, the military said on Facebook on May 19.