On February 15, the Egyptian Defense Ministry announced that the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) had foiled an attempt of militants to infiltrate through the border with Libya. EAF warplanes discovered and destroyed 10 vehicles loaded with weapons of the terrorists along the western border after the military had received information about the terrorists’ plan to sneak into the Egyptian territory.
In a related development, army spokesman Colonel Tamer Rifai said during a press conference that the EAF had destroyed 137 positions of ISIS since the beginning of the Egyptian Army military operation against ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula on February 9.
378 positions and hideouts of the terrorist group were discovered and destroyed by the Egyptian Army since the beginning of the anti-ISIS operation, according to Col. Rifai. The Egyptian Army also eliminated 53 ISIS fighters and arrested 685 suspects in the Sinai Peninsula.
Col. Rifai noted during the press conference that the Egyptian Army and security forces are simultaneously conducting security operations against traffickers and smuggling gangs in the Sinai Peninsula.
Observers believe that criminal elements play a key role in financing ISIS cells in the Sinai Peninsula and other areas of the country.
