CAIRO — On May 31, the Egyptian armed forces announced in a statement that 19 militants had been killed during military strikes carried out during the previous week in Sinai.

The same statement said the strikes were based on intelligence information that confirmed the presence of extremists in several locations in the vicinity of the cities of Bir al-Abd, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah in North Sinai. Two military strikes were carried out, the first of which resulted in the killing of three suspects found with automatic weapons, ammunition, grenades and RPG ammunition in their possession. Military engineering teams also discovered and destroyed five explosive devices that had been planted to target the Egyptian armed forces, officials said.

The army reported five deaths among its ranks; two officers, one noncommissioned officer and two soldiers. The Associated Press reported this occurred when an explosive device hit their vehicle.

During the operation, the Egyptian air force carried out a number of airstrikes to target "terrorist hideouts," which resulted in the death of 16 suspects, bringing the total to 19, according to the army’s statement.