Egypt says fighting in central Sinai leaves 10 soldiers dead

Published March 23, 2017

The Egyptian army says it has lost 10 soldiers in fighting with Islamic extremists in central Sinai, following a raid launched against militants.

The army said in a Thursday statement that its troops killed 15 extremists and took seven prisoners in the raid, but that three officers and seven enlisted men were killed by roadside bombs while in pursuit of fighters.

Egypt has been battling an insurgency in northern Sinai for years, mainly by militants from an Islamic State affiliate. The army has been increasingly saying it is taking the fight deeper into the peninsula's sparsely populated desert and mountainous areas such as Jebel Halal, targeting insurgent weapons depots.

The army says troops destroyed a large amount of explosives in the raid and seized other weapons and equipment.

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