3 Egyptian soldiers killed amid Sinai operation

CAIRO (AA) – Three Egyptian soldiers have been killed as part of a major security offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, according to the military on Monday.

In a statement, a military spokesman Col. Tamer Rifai said 46 suspected militants were killed in security operations in northern and central Sinai.

The statement, however, did not specify the date of the fatalities.

According to the statement, some 100 suspects militants and criminals have been arrested and 204 explosive devices defused.

The military spokesman said 10 openings of underground tunnels near border with the Gaza Strip have also been destroyed as part of the operations.

Since February of last year, Egyptian security forces have been waging extensive operations against what they describe as “terrorist groups” based in Sinai and Egypt’s Western Desert.

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a militant insurgency since mid-2013, when Mohamed Morsi -- Egypt’s first freely-elected president -- was ousted in a military coup.