‘Sinai 2018’ continuation of ‘Martyr’s Right’ campaign: Presidency

CAIRO - 11 February 2018: “Sinai 2018” is a continuation of a series of the “Martyr’s Right” military operation “which were conducted against terrorists in North Sinai since September 2014, Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi told the reporters on Sunday.

“Thus, they (the operations) are based on previous success against the terrorist groups in Sinai, so it has turned now to be carried out on large-scale,” Radi said, noting that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is following up the operation.

The operation coincides with development mega projects in Suez Canal cities and the Sinai Peninsula, he continued.

On Friday, the army and naval forces began a military operation named “Full-Scale Operation in Sinai 2018” against terrorists in Sinai affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (previously known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis), Military spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai announced.

In remarks to “Ten new” talk show on TEN channel on Friday evening, Radi said that “Sinai 2018 is a result of a series of military efforts and investigations since 2013, and particularly after the Rawdah Mosque attack,” which occurred on November 24, 2017 and claimed lives of more than 300 people in North Sinai.

Over two days, the Egyptian Armed Forces have killed 16 militants and arrested four others, said al-Rifai in a statement on Sunday. Additionally, the Air Force destroyed a total of 66 hideouts used by militants to carry out their attacks.

Since the 2011 Revolution that ended former President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 years in power, militant groups used Sinai as a hotbed and attacked several military and security forces. As a result, the army carried out two massive military operations; In August 2011, the army launched “Eagle 1” against militants who claimed responsibility for bombing the Egypt-Israel gas pipeline in Arish in July 2011.

On August 5, 2012, the army launched “Eagle 2” operation in North Sinai, following the deaths of 16 police soldiers during an attack on a police station in North Sinai near the Egypt-Israel border crossing Karam Abu Salem.

However, the terrorist attacks intensified following the dispersal of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins of Rabaa and Nahda squares on August 14, 2013. Since then, the armed forces waged the four-phase operation of “Martyr’s Right,” killing hundreds of terrorists.