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Egyptian armed forces have eliminated an unknown number of terrorists who killed 16 policemen in the western desert days ago, the Egyptian army said Tuesday.
The anti-terror raid came after receiving a tip-off in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior that the terrorists were hiding in a mountainous area in west of Fayoum Governorate, the army said in a statement.
Three vehicles loaded with arms, explosives and ammunition were also destroyed in the air raid, it said.
The statement did not disclose the specific number of the terrorists killed in the operation.
The operation came a few days after 16 Egyptian policemen were killed, 13 others wounded in an attack by militants on Oct. 20 in a desert area near the Al-Wahat highway on the outskirts of Giza Governorate, which also left 15 militants either dead or injured.
"The campaign is part of the efforts of the armed forces and the police to avenge the martyrs of national duty," said the army's statement.
Last Friday, the security forces announced the killing of 12 "very dangerous terrorist elements" in the western desert region of Al-Wahat where the 16 policemen were killed.
Egypt has been fighting a bloody insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military toppled the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
