Egyptian army uses attack helicopter to destroy terrorist group’s weapons storage facility in Sinai

(Al Arabiya) The Egyptian army announced early Friday that it has bombed a weapon storage facility belonging to the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis militant group in Sinai, security sources and Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

The weapons were intended to be used against police and army officials, Egyptian ONA news agency reported, adding that an Apache helicopter was used to destroy the facility.

In May this year, the militant group’s leader was killed along with three senior members in an overnight attack by security forces.

The authorities claim that groups like Ansar Bait al-Maqdis - which is considered to be the deadliest in the country - are linked to former Islamist President Mohammad Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which was blacklisted as “terrorist organization” in December after a deadly bombing north of Cairo.

The Egyptian government claims that attack by the group have killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the overthrow Mursi’s overthrow, the government says.

Egypt has launched a wide-ranging campaign against militants in the Sinai after they stepped up attacks on police and army targets following the overthrow of Mursi by the military last July.

The government claims their attacks have killed hundreds of security forces.