4 soldiers, 10 militants killed in Egypt’s Sinai campaign

Vehicles of Egyptian Army and police special forces are seen in the troubled northern part of the Sinai peninsula during a launch of a major assault against militants, in Al Arish, Egypt, in this undated handout photo made available by the Ministry of Defence, in this February 27, 2018 photo. (REUTERS)

Egyptian Army's Armoured Vehicles are seen on a highway of the troubled northern part of the Sinai peninsula during a launch of a major assault against militants, in Al Arish, Egypt, in this undated handout picture made available by the Ministry of Defence, February 27, 2018.(AFP)

CAIRO: Egypt's military said on Sunday four soldiers and 10 militants were killed in a military operation in Sinai against Daesh militants.
The deaths raise military casualties to at least 16 dead, along with more than 100 militants, since the start of the operation on Feb. 9, according to previous army tolls.
The army launched the campaign after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who is standing in elections for his second term this month, gave them a three-month deadline to crush Daesh in Sinai.
El-Sisi issued his ultimatum in November after suspected Daesh gunmen massacred more than 300 worshippers in a Sinai mosque associated with Muslim Sufi mystics.
Daesh in Sinai has been among the group's most resilient affiliates, killing hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt.
It has killed scores of Christians in church bombings and shootings, and bombed a Russian airliner carrying tourists from an Egyptian resort in 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
The military says it has evidence Daesh has sought to move members to Sinai following its defeats in Iraq and Syria.