CAIRO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian armed forces and police have killed 32 militants in North and Central Sinai during anti-terrorist raids over the past few days, a military spokesperson said in a statement Thursday.
"The air forces destroyed 21 targets in North Sinai and two vehicles loaded with large quantities of arms and ammunition," the statement added.
Nine dangerous extremist elements and 84 wanted persons were arrested, it added.
Some 15 explosive deceives, planted for targeting Egyptian soldiers, were detonated, according to the statement.
The raids are part of "Sinai 2018," a massive anti-terrorist operation launched on Feb. 9 to fight terrorism in North and Central Sinai and other areas in the Delta cities and the western desert areas.
Since its beginning, the operation has killed around 318 terrorists and 37 soldiers.
Egypt has been fighting a wave of terrorism that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, since the military removed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
A Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist attacks in Egypt over the past few years.
