CAIRO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian armed forces killed a terrorist leader in central Sinai, a mountainous area east of Cairo, after fire exchange during anti-terror military raids in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.
"The raid resulted in the killing of Nasser Abu Zaqoul, the leader of the terrorist organization in central Sinai, after intense fire exchange," said military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay.
The statement did not name the terror organization, but it mostly refers to the so-called "Wilayat Sinai," a Sinai-based militant group affiliated with the regional Islamic State terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for most terrorist attacks in Egypt over the past few years.
Refaay added that the forces found two hand grenades, a machine gun, a wireless communication device and a large amount of ammunition in his possession.
Egypt has been facing a wave of terrorism that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, since the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.
The Sinai-based IS branch claimed responsibility for Saturday's terrorist attack against a military camp in central Sinai that left eight soldiers dead and 15 others wounded, while the soldiers killed 14 terrorists.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian forces killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared by Egyptian newly re-elected President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's removal.
