Egyptian troops have killed over two dozen jihadist fighters during raids on militant hideouts in several provinces, Egypt's army stated.
Twenty-six militants were killed in shootouts with forces during the almost week-long assaults, which took place between 20-27 September, an Egyptian military spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday.
Forces have arrested 84 militant suspects, including a very dangerous fighter identified as Soliman Ayed Soliman during raids in the restive North Sinai, the Nile Delta's Daqahliya and the Suez Canal cities of Port Said and Ismailia.
Egypt has been rocked by a deadly Islamist insurgency, based in North Sinai, which has killed hundreds of police and military personnel and escalated since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Egyptian officials have voiced anxiety over a flow of weapons and infiltrating militants from neighbouring Libya, where a deadly militia rivalry has worsened over the past several months.
The rise of the Islamic State, a militant Sunni group which has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq, has also raised alarm.
The group last week urged insurgents in the restive Sinai Peninsula to press on with attacks against Egyptian security forces and beheadings, heightening fears over ties between the group and Egypt's militants
The extensive operation Egypt's army is waging in Sinai to combat the rising militancy also involves the destruction of a network of smuggling tunnels connecting the desert region with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Security forces have destroyed 18 passages in the recent attacks, the statement said, adding to over 1,700 tunnels the army has eliminated since it intensified its campaign early in 2013.
