15 'terrorists' killed in military shelling of Sinai villages

Egyptian military choppers struck targets in four villages in North Sinai, killing 15 "terrorists", the state television reported on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses and security sources told Anadolu Agency that military helicopters struck two suspected militant hideouts in North Sinai. According to eyewitnesses, the first strike targeted a house adjacent to the Abu Mounir Mosque in the village of Al-Muqataa in Sheikh Zuweid city, damaging both buildings. The second strike hit a building in the nearby village of Al-Touma, causing several injuries, witnesses said. According to security sources, a total of ten missiles were fired in the twin strikes. An official statement on Tuesday's operation has yet to be issued by the authorities. Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, has seen almost daily attacks by unknown gunmen since the July 3 military ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi. On August 19, 25 policemen were killed in North Sinai in an attack by suspected militants. It was the deadliest incident of its kind since August of last year, when 16 Egyptian border guards were killed by unidentified gunmen at a border checkpoint near the North Sinai city of Rafah. The Egyptian army has launched a major offensive against militant groups based in the Sinai peninsula.