Six terrorists and two Egyptian soldiers were killed last week during a sweeping operation against ISIL group militants in the Sinai Peninsula, the army said on Sunday.

The army launched the campaign on February 9 after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who this week won a second term, gave it a three-month deadline to crush ISIL in the Sinai.

Army spokesman Tamer Rifai in a statement said the six terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire in the north of the Sinai, as the army launched a raid against a “very dangerous terrorist cell”.

An officer and a soldier were also killed last week and two other troops wounded, he said.

Source: AFP