Egypt says 13 jihadists killed in Sinai shootout

Egyptian police killed 13 jihadists in a shootout in North Sinai, an interior ministry source said on Tuesday, as Cairo conducts an operation against the Islamic State group in the region.

The Egyptian army in February launched a sweeping push to rid the Sinai Peninsula of Islamic militants who have been waging a bloody insurgency.

The deadly exchange of gunfire erupted when police raided a house in the city of El-Arish after receiving information that “terrorist members were hiding out inside”, the security official said.

Thirteen jihadists were killed in the shootout, the source said, without reporting any police casualties.

Jihadists launched an insurgency in Sinai after the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was forced out in the face of mass protests against his rule.

The military says that over 200 suspected jihadists and at least 35 soldiers have been killed in its “Sinai 2018” operation.