Ten Egyptian troops killed in Sinai anti-terror operation

Ten Egyptian security forces have been killed during an anti-terror operation in central Sinai after their vehicles were targeted by bombs.

A military spokesman said in a statement Thursday that security forces killed 15 people and arrested seven others in the course of the operation on a terrorist base in the peninsula.

The security forces also found and destroyed half a ton of TNT explosive, and seized two vehicles containing hand grenades and hundreds of mobile phones, the statement added.

The Sinai Peninsula has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, following a deadly terrorist attack that left 33 Egyptian soldiers dead.

Over the past years, militants have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in Egypt after the democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted by the military in July 2013.

SS