CAIRO: Nine people suspected of belonging to a cell behind attacks in the Sinai Peninsula were killed during a police raid in northeastern Egypt, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
The cell based in Sharqiya province was implicated in attacks on “security posts and military apparatus in North Sinai, which killed many members of the armed forces and police force,” the ministry said in a statement.
Members were also accused of plotting other attacks on vital infrastructure in the region, it added.
Police found automatic rifles and ammunition during the raid on a site that had been used as a weapons and explosives training centre.
Security forces in Cairo also detained nine people and seized weapons and explosive devices, the ministry said.
Egyptian security forces have been increasingly targeted by extremists since the army ousted Islamist President Mohammad Mursi in 2013.
An insurgency by a Daesh affiliate based in North Sinai has killed hundreds of police and soldiers, as well as civilians.
Meanwhile, security officials say 15 people have been arrested in connection with an attack on an unlicensed Christian church south of the capital, Cairo.
The officials said those arrested on Sunday were 12 Muslims and three Christians suspected of involvement in Friday’s violence.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
