9 militants, 2 soldiers killed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

Nine Islamist extremists were killed during a military operation in Egypt's volatile Sinai region, a military spokesman said. The operation, carried out Saturday, was aimed at clearing militants from the region, which has been rife with terror attacks since the Egyptian military ousted former President Mohamed Morsi July 3, the Palestinian Ma'an News agency reported. The military spokesman said helicopters targeted arms stores and militants' vehicles in seven Sinai villages. The airstrikes were followed by ground operations, with troops deployed to the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, The New York Times reported. Troops seized several arms caches, including Grad missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, explosives, TNT and 10 anti-tank land mines. Laptop computers, missile launchers, explosive belts and maps were also confiscated during the operations, security officials said. Two Egyptian soldiers were killed during the operations, officials said.