By Islam Mosaad
CAIRO
The Egyptian army on Friday said it killed 12 "terrorists" and detained 68 suspected "militants" over the course of the last week.
"Army forces killed 12 terrorist elements in the period from September 28 to October 2," army spokesman Mohamed Samir said in a statement posted on Facebook.
He said 68 "terrorists" and "militants" had also been detained in security sweeps carried out in the northern Sinai Peninsula, the canal cities of Ismailia and Port Said, and the Nile Delta's Daqahliya province.
According to the statement, caches of weapons, explosives, vehicles and motorbikes – allegedly used to carry out "terrorist" attacks – were seized.
For the past year, the Egyptian army has waged a major offensive against militant groups said to be based in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which shares borders with both Israel and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The region has seen a spate of attacks by unknown militants on security personnel since last year's ouster of Mohamed Morsi – Egypt's' first freely elected president – by the army.
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