Egyptian forces have killed over the past few days 52 "extremely dangerous takfiri individuals" in North Sinai province, northeast Cairo, as part of the ongoing "Sinai 2018" anti-terror campaign, the Egyptian Army announced on Sunday. The army launched operation “Sinai 2018” in February to rid the peninsula of ISIS militants, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against civilians and security forces in the country. In Sinai, the statement said, 13 takfiris were killed in an operation by security forces in the city of al-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province. The remaining 39 militants were killed in various military operations across northern and central Sinai, according to the statement. During these operations in North Sinai and the center of the peninsula, 49 militants were also arrested in joint raids conducted by the armed forces and the police, the statement noted. It added that the raids also destroyed 26 hideouts and storehouses belonging to the terrorists and defused 64 explosive devices planted to target the forces. The statement pointed out that the operation has achieved great successes in the framework of the ongoing efforts to eliminate terrorism and drain its sources of funding. Meanwhile, troops and security forces also destroyed 15 vehicles laden with weapons and ammunition while trying to infiltrate the western borders with eastern Libya, and 17 others in the southern military region. Since the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, violent confrontations have been taking place between security forces and extremist armed groups in northern and central Sinai, which have killed hundreds of people from both sides. Since its launch in February, the "Sinai 2018" anti-terror operation has killed about 400 militants while more than 30 soldiers died during the confrontations.