The Ministry of Interior has neutralised two militants in North Sinai who were plotting to carry out aggressive attacks against police and military personnel, a ministry statement on Tuesday read.
The attacks, which were planned for the Jelbana area in North Sinai, were set to have taken place on the anniversary of the 30 June Revolution.
The National Security Apparatus had received intelligence that a group of militants were hiding in the Jelbana area, the Ministry of Interior statement said.
Security forces immediately identified the group’s whereabouts and movements, with police monitoring two of the group members. A shootout occurred between the two militants, who were using a white car, and security forces, and the two militants were killed, the ministry added.
Two automatic weapons, ammunition and a wireless device, as well as other weapons, were confiscated, the Ministry of Interior said.
On Tuesday, Egypt commemorated the seventh anniversary of the 30 June Revolution in which Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, was ousted. Morsi’s departure from the presidency came in July 2013, following mass protests against his rule.
A state of emergency has been in effect in North Sinai since October 2014. In February 2018, the Egyptian army and police forces launched a comprehensive campaign to confront militants in Sinai, the Nile Delta region, and the Western Desert.
