On March 11, Egyptian Army spokesman Colonel Tamer Rifai announced in an official statement that the Egyptian Army had killed 16 ISIS fighters and had captured 3 others during its ongoing military operation in the Sinai Peninsula – “Sinai 2018”. The Egyptian Army also destroyed 6 vehicles and 32 motorcycles belonging to ISIS.
Col. Rifai also announced that warplanes of the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) had foiled an attempt of terrorists to infiltrate the country’s western border and had destroyed 7 vehicles. In the Sinai Peninsula, the EAF destroyed 9 positions and 3 vehicles belonging to ISIS, according to Col. Rifai.
Furthermore, the Egyptian Army discovered and destroyed 258 ISIS hideouts and an ammo depot, in which the Egyptian Army had found mortar shells, RPG-7 rounds, Grad rockets as well as Kornet and Malyutka anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).
Meanwhile, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq reported that ISIS fighters had damaged a M60 battle tank and a bulldozer of the Egyptian Army with IEDs near the city of Rafah in the northeastern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Egyptian Army has slowed down its military operations in the Sinai Peninsula over the past two weeks, which indicates that it has achieved most of its main goals. However, local observers believe that the Egyptian Army will not halt its operation soon because ISIS cells are still active in the peninsula.