A picture taken on July 27, 2018 shows Egyptian policemen stand guarding a checkpoint on a road leading to the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish. AFP / Khaled DESOUKI

Asharq Al-Awsat

Egypt said Wednesday that its security forces have killed at least 27 suspected militants in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula and along its porous border with Libya.

The military said, as reported by AP, that forces destroyed 342 hideouts and weapons depots, dismantled 344 explosive devices and detained more than 400 suspects and around 3,000 illegal migrants, without giving a timeframe.

It said airstrikes destroyed 61 vehicles containing weapons and ammunition in the Western Desert, adding that one soldier was killed in a shootout with militants.

Cairo launched a nationwide operation against militants in February. It has struggled to defeat a long-running insurgency in the Sinai that is now affiliated with ISIS group.