Egypt reports successes in Sinai operation against militants

CAIRO – Egypt's military says it has destroyed dozens of targets, killed 16 militants and detained over 30 suspects as part of its latest security operation in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, where Islamic militants are most active.

Army spokesman Col. Tamer el-Rifaai said on Sunday that vehicles, weapons caches, communications centers and illegal opium fields were targeted in the sweep.

The operation, which targets "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations," started on Friday and involves army and police forces. It covers north and central Sinai, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert along the porous border with Libya.

Militant attacks increased dramatically in Egypt since the military's 2013 ouster of elected but divisive Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Violence has been concentrated in north Sinai, but has also spread to the mainland.