Military operations carried out by Egypt's armed forces in North Sinai over the past week have left 43 suspected militants dead, the army said in a statement on Sunday. Armed forces Spokesman Mohamed Samir described the people killed as "terrorists", adding that they were killed in gunfire exchange, in attempted attacks on security checkpoints and in aerial bombardment and targeting by helicopter fire.
Samir said the operations were carried out in North Sinai's al-Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid cities.
The spokesman said five wanted individuals and 82 suspects were arrested during the past week.
He added that 16 headquarters and meeting points used "by the terrorists" were destroyed.
Samir has recently been issuing weekly statements on the results of military campaigns in North Sinai.
Militancy inside Egypt has seen a significant rise since July 2013, with most attacks targeting security forces in the north of the Sinai peninsula.
Amid intensified campaigns to fight the insurgency, especially in North Sinai, 115 suspected militants were killed in the first two weeks of March, according to the armed forces spokesman's announcements.
In February, the military said it killed 173 people, whom it also described as "terrorists".
