UPDATE: Egypt's army raises state of high alert to crack down on terrorists

CAIRO - 9 February 2018: The Egyptian Armed Forces and police have raised a state of high alert across different governorates to execute a comprehensive security crackdown against terrorists, according to a Friday statement by the Armed Forces on the official page of the military spokesman on Facebook.

The video statement number (1) posted on army spokesperson Tamer el-Refai's Facebook page said the intensified military operation “Sinai 2018” against extremists comes "within the framework of the mandate by Egypt's Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, to the General Command of the Armed Forces and ministry of interior, to coordinate with all country’s institutions to confront terrorism and all other related operations by extremists."



“Forces started in the morning the execution of the comprehensive confrontation against terrorist and criminal organizations in North and Central Sinai, and other areas in Egypt's Delta and the in the Nile Valley, as well as carrying out other training and operational tasks and exercises in all strategic directions," the statement added.

According to the statement, the operation’s target is to tighten the control of the external ports of the Egyptian state, and ensure the achievement of the goals planned to clear the areas where there are terrorist spots and immunize the Egyptian society from the "evils of terrorism."