Egypt security forces kill 11 suspected terrorists in raid

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces have killed 11 suspected terrorists in a shootout near the Sinai, the interior ministry said on Tuesday, just days after more than 300 people were killed in an attack on a mosque in North Sinai.

The shootout occurred during a raid on a suspected hideout in the Sinai-bordering province of Ismailia, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the area was being used by terrorists to train and store weapons and logistical equipment for attacks in North Sinai.

Attackers detonated a bomb and then gunned down fleeing worshipers in last Friday’s mosque attack, the deadliest in Egypt’s modern history.

No group has claimed responsibility for the assault, but Egypt’s public prosecutor linked ISIS members to the attack, citing interviews with wounded survivors who said the attackers brandished an ISIS flag.

Six suspected terrorists were arrested as part of the operations, which also included a raid on an additional suspected hideout in the 10th of Ramadan, an area just outside of Cairo.

Since 2013, Egyptian security forces have battled an ISIS affiliate in the mainly desert region of North Sinai, where ISIS members have killed hundreds of police and soldiers.

The interior ministry statement on Tuesday did not directly link the suspected terrorists targeted in the operations to last week’s mosque attack.