Armed Forces destroy 97% of Sinai’s tunnels

CAIRO – 28 February 2018: Commander of the People's Defense Forces Khaled Tawfiq said Wednesday that the Armed Forces destroyed 97 percent of the tunnels found in Sinai.

In his speech during the fifth educational seminar of the Armed Forces, Tawfiq added that terrorism aims to destabilize Egypt, but Sinai’s comprehensive operation, which is not limited to Northern and Central Sinai, could foil their schemes, destroying many targets and hideouts where terrorists used to store weapons and ammunition.

He also referred to the video of the operation that showed the heroic deeds conducted by the Armed Forces, including the arrest of many takfiris wearing explosive belts and outfits similar to the armed forces’ uniform.

In an eight-minute video statement posted on February 27 on the official Facebook page of the Military Spokesperson Tamer el-Refaie, the Armed Forces said that several targets and hideouts of terrorists were also destroyed.

Based on accurate information about the targets, an artillery shelling was launched on 285 hideouts that were used to store weapons and ammunition. The Air Forces also managed to destroy 20 targets, and two car bombs.

As part of the operation, the forces thwarted suicide attacks by extremists, arrested four takfiris wearing explosive belts and outfits similar to the armed forces’ uniform. The video screened footages of killed militants and tanks launching bombings on targets in Sinai.

A weapon store buried under the sand was discovered, and a total of 300 trenches and weapon stores were destroyed.

The operation, that takes place in different areas across the Sinai Peninsula, managed to seize 18 vehicles, damage 170 motorbikes without license plates and burn 36 farms of marijuana.

The full-scale offensive also arrested 341 criminals, seized over 1,750 kilograms of drugs, andreleased 1,447 individuals who were proved uninvolved in terror attacks.
In both the Red and Mediterranean seas, the Egyptian and French marine units took part in a huge naval maneuver and drillings. The exercise comes within the framework of the Egyptian naval forces’ annual exercise plan under the name “Cleopatra 2018”.