At least 13 extremists were killed by the Egyptian armed forces on Saturday during their raids on militants' cells south of Sheikh Zuweid and Arish cities in North Sinai province, a security source told Xinhua.

"Some of the extremists have been preparing to carry out a big terrorist operation west of Arish Airport when the armed forces raided on them," the source added, believing the militants belonged to Sinai-based Al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group.

He said that the forces managed to foil an attempt of a motorbike suicide bomber to break into a gathering of armed forces personnel south of Sheikh Zuweid. "The sniper forces shot him dead," he said.

The raids are part of a massive security campaign the Egyptian leadership launched against extremists following the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013.

On Friday, similar security raids against extremists in North Sinai's Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid cities left at least ten extremists killed.

Militant activities mounted in Egypt since Morsi's overthrow and the following security crackdown on his loyalists that left about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

Hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in anti-government attacks carried out by extremists and self-proclaimed Islamists.

Most of the attacks took place in the restive peninsula but they extended to reach the capital Cairo and other provinces across the country.

Egypt's new military-oriented leadership, led by former army chief and now President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, has declared "war against terrorism" against self-proclaimed Islamists who support the deposed Islamist president.

The ABM group, which has recently pledged allegiance to Daesh is a regional militant group and changed its name into "Sinai State," claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks in Egypt.
Source: XINHUA