CAIRO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Three military officers and seven soldiers have been killed by a blast while the military raids killed 15 militants and arrested seven others in Egypt's Central Sinai area of North Sinai province, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.
"While chasing the terrorist elements, two explosive devices blew up in two armored vehicles of the raiding forces which left three officers and seven personnel of the armed forces dead," military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay said in the statement.
He added that the raids destroyed two warehouses containing large amounts of ammunition and explosives and seized two vehicles carrying several bombs and hundreds of cell phones and laptops belonging to the terrorists.
Since the beginning of March, security campaigns in North Sinai have killed at least 45 militants, arrested about 180 suspects over terror-related charges, busted hundreds of other suspects over different charges, including smuggling and illegal migration, ruined several smuggling tunnels, detonated dozens of explosive devices and seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition.
Earlier in mid-February, at least three Egyptian soldiers were killed in Central Sinai's Mount Halal area when their armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Three militants were also killed and three others arrested in subsequent fighting.
Anti-government terror attacks in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.
Most of the terrorist attacks nationwide, particularly those in North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, have been claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the Islamic State regional terrorist group.
Security campaigns in Sinai have killed hundreds of militants and arrested a similar number of suspects over the past few years as part of the country's anti-terror war declared by former army chief and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi following Morsi's removal.
Egypt's military intelligence chief, Gen. Mohamed Farag al-Shahhat, said during a military-held symposium in February that at least 500 terrorists have been killed since a massive anti-terror campaign, known as "The Martyr's Right," started in September 2015.
