CAIRO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 terrorists were killed in a shootout with police forces during a raid on their hideout in Arish city of North Sinai province northeastern Egypt, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The group of terrorist elements took a farm in Obour district of Arish city as a hideout and a launching pad for carrying out their hostile operations," the statement pointed out.
It explained that the terrorists opened fire at the police once the latter raided the farm, so the police had to shoot back and the confrontation left 11 of the terrorists dead.
The police found guns and explosives in their possession.
Egypt has been facing a wave of terrorism that left hundreds of policemen, soldiers and civilians dead since the army ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Most of the terrorist attacks over the past few years were claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the Islamic State regional militant group.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian police and army killed hundreds of militants and arrested thousands of suspected terrorists since Morsi's ouster.
