Egypt’s week-long offensive against militancy resulted in the killing of a total of 53 Islamist fighters and the arrest of 680 suspects, a military spokesman said on Thursday.
In November, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in November gave the armed forces a three month deadline to defeat the militants following a deadly attack on a mosque in Sinai killed more than 300 people.
The attack was the deadliest ever to be carried out on the North African country.
The security operation which involves the army, navy, air force and police began last Friday and targeted “terrorist and criminal elements and organisations” in north and central Sinai, parts of the Nile Delta and the western desert.
Colonel Tamer al-Rifai said that the operation had led to the destruction of over 1000 kilograms of explosives, 378 militant hideouts and weapon storage facilities, including a media center used by the militants.
He also confirmed that 680 suspects had been detained, some of whom were on the police’s wanted list.
Since the operation began, the air force has conducted more than 100 strikes in northern and central Sinai.
Major General Yasser Abdel Aziz of the Military Operations Authority said the operation would end when Sinai was free of “terrorists”.
“It could be extended or shortened according to the situation and that is what will be determined in the coming days,” Abdel Aziz told journalists.
