Egypt troops step up campaign against Sinai militants

Egyptian security forces have killed 11 militants since launching an offensive in the Sinai peninsula earlier this month, the defence ministry has said.

The operation, launched after 16 border guards were killed in an attack on 5 August, has also led to the arrest of 23 suspects and seizures of weapons.

Forces would be redeployed on Wednesday to “complete the hunt for terrorist elements”, the ministry added.

The build-up of troops and heavy weapons has caused concern in Israel.

Since 1982, when Israeli troops withdrew, Sinai has remained under a special security regime mandated by the peace treaty the two countries signed in 1979, which restricts Egypt’s freedom of military action.

On Monday, Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi stressed that his country was committed to all international treaties and, without naming Israel, said no other states should worry about its actions in Sinai.

“Egypt is practising its very normal role on its soil and does not threaten anyone and there should not be any kind of international or regional concerns at all from the presence of Egyptian security forces,” he said