Sinai Clashes: 59 Militants And Seven Soldiers Killed In 'Troubled' Sinai Province

The Egyptian military killed 59 militants in troubled North Sinai province on Saturday, an army spokesman said. The Brigadier-General Mohammed Samir said on Sunday that Saturday's raids against ISIS-affiliated militants claimed the lives of seven soldiers.

"The men of the armed forces backed by air support targeted several terrorist dens on Saturday," a statement from Egyptian army said, according to AFP.

Samir said the army targeted militants' headquarters, killing 20 in Gabal Alika area in Shiekh Zwayied, reported PTI. He also said the army blew up a vehicle and killed militants inside it.

The Islamic State jihadists outfit, in it's daily radio broadcast, said its fighters attacked multiple checkpoints and military installations on Saturday in North Sinai, according to Al Jazeera. Saturday's attacks on two military checkpoints near the northern town of Sheikh Zuwerd killed five soldiers.

Egyptian military, earlier this month, launched an offensive against the Islamic State-linked Sinai-based terror group and targeted its positions with air raids. More than 200 militants were killed in the Egyptian military's operation so far in July.

An Egyptian navy vessel was attacked on Thursday by Islamic State extremists, who destroyed it with a 'guided missile' while it floating off the Sinai Peninsula's Mediterranean coast, HNGN reported last week. It was first maritime attack by the Islamic State extremists

The northern Sinai province has witnessed a series of violent clashes between local ISIS affiliates and the military since President Mohamed Morsi's removal in 2013.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, however, recently claimed that Sinai was far from stable. "Under control is not an enough to describe the situation [in Sinai]... the situation is completely and absolutely very stable," Sisi had said last week, according to Al Jazeera.

A rare firsthand account of life in besieged Sinai:

"Death has become the cheap currency of the city": rare firsthand account of life in besieged #Sinai in @MadaMasr https://t.co/HHTyYCAqKM