Egypt military declares success against Sinai militants

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

An Israeli Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) drives along the border with Egypt (L) at the Kerem Shalom crossing into the southern Gaza Strip, a military zone where the borders of Israel, Egypt and Gaza intersect, and where an Egyptian military vehicle that was seized by Islamist gunmen tried to storm the border into Israel on Sunday, August 8, 2012. REUTERS photo

Egypt's military on Wednesday said a campaign against militants in Sinai was "a complete success and will continue," after state television reported it had killed 20 militants in air strikes.
 
"On Tuesday evening, elements from the armed forces and interior ministry supported by the air force began a plan to restore security by pursuing and targeting armed terrorist elements in Sinai, and it has accomplished this task with complete success," the military said in a statement.
 
The military will "continue implementing this plan," added the statement.
 
State television and a military official in Sinai reported that 20 militants were killed in helicopter strikes at dawn, in retaliation for an ambush that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers on Sunday near the border with Israel.