CAIRO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian armed forces announced on Friday launching a massive nationwide counterterrorism operation named "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018."
The operation is not restricted to the restive northern and central parts of Sinai Peninsula near Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, but also involves the Nile Delta and the Western Desert close to the country's borders with Libya.
"Elements of our air forces targeted some hideouts as well as weapon and ammunition storehouses used by the terrorists to target the law enforcement forces and civil targets in North and Central Sinai," said military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay in a statement on Friday.
Eyewitnesses said they saw armored vehicles and tanks deployed in North Sinai cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid while blast smoke rose in the sky and communication networks were almost cut.
"The naval forces also tighten maritime security procedures to cut down lines of supplies to the terrorist elements," he added.
The border guards and the police have maintained maximum security alert and deployment at border areas nationwide, according to the military statement.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian police frustrated on Friday a terror attack, killing three terrorists and arresting 14 others as part of the country's major anti-terror campaign, according to a statement from the interior ministry.
The terrorists were members of the outlawed Hasm group affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in July 2013 in response to mass protests.
The simultaneous raids included the capital Cairo and the provinces of Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Beheira, Minufiya, Sharqiya, Assiut and Fayoum, where explosive devices and machine guns were also seized.
Hasm militant group claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks that killed several policemen since it emerged late 2016 and the group is seen by the police as the armed wing of the currently outlawed Brotherhood group.
"Hasm is one of armed wing of the Brotherhood group assigned with carrying out operations against the country's vital premises and facilities as well as the armed forces and the police ahead of the presidential elections," said the police statement.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on his Facebook page on Friday "I am proudly following up the heroic actions of my sons in the armed forces and the police to cleanse the lands of Egypt from terrorists, the enemies of life."
North Sinai has been the center of Egypt's terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following Morsi's military removal. They later extended to several other provinces including Cairo and started to target the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings.
Terrorists even attacked a mosque in North Sinai's Arish city last November, killing at least 310 Muslim worshippers and injuring more than 120 others, marking the deadliest terror attack and the first against a mosque in Egypt's modern history.
Most of the terror attacks were carried out by the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai state or province), a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), a regional terrorist group. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the mosque attack though.
Following the mosque attack, Sisi ordered the army to restore security and stability in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula within three months.
Egyptian security forces have so far killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared by Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's ouster in 2013.
The Egyptian parliament expressed on Friday its full support of the anti-terrorist "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018," calling on the Egyptian people to back the forces in the "honorable and just operation."
Similarly, Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based highest Islamic learning institution for Egypt and the Sunni Muslim world, voiced complete support of the massive counterterrorism operation launched on Friday.
It hailed the forces for their sacrifices "to maintain security and safety across Egypt and to foil the plots of chaos and and disorder that attempt to sweep the nation's stability."
The comprehensive anti-terror operation comes weeks before Egypt starts its 2018 presidential elections, where incumbent President Sisi is expected to make an easy win for a second term due to the lack of strong challengers in the race.
