CAIRO, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 83 militants were killed in security raids on their strongholds in North and Central Sinai in the past few days, the army said in a statement on Monday.
"The raids launched from Oct. 28 till today have killed 83 militants, including six highly dangerous terrorist elements," the army said.
An officer and two soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire, it added.
Some 61 criminal and wanted elements were arrested during the raids.
It added 376 explosive devices planted to target army and police forces were dismantled.
The statement reiterated the army and police forces' persistence to uproot terrorism and achieve security and stability for the people.
The country has been suffering wave of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The terror attacks had been centered in restive North Sinai before spreading to several provinces, including the capital Cairo, and starting to target the Coptic minority via church bombings.
Most of the attacks were claimed by the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai State), a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State regional terrorist group.
