Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi vowed on Saturday to end the military and security forces’ campaign against terrorists in northern Sinai “as soon as possible.”
He also said that a social and economic development plan for the area, launched in 2014, would be completed by 2022.
"All Egyptians know that their Egyptian brothers in Sinai are not responsible for the evil people," Sisi said, referring to the extremists.
"We don't hold our people in Sinai responsible in any way" for the attacks carried out by the terrorists, said the president, stressing that "terrorism is present in all the republic's provinces".
He thanked "every honorable Egyptian in the Sinai... this is a trying time but if we had not taken these measures (against extremists), we would be losing Sinai".
More than 200 extremists and at least 33 government troops have been killed since February 9, when Egypt launched operation "Sinai 2018" against an affiliate of the ISIS terror group, according to official figures.
The country has been hit by extremist attacks in recent years, especially after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests against his government.
Terrorists have killed hundreds of soldiers, policemen and civilians, mainly in the northern Sinai, but also elsewhere in Egypt.
The latest casualties were reported on Wednesday when the army announced that three soldiers were killed in the past week in the ongoing Sinai operation. Thirty terrorists wee also killed in that same period.
The extremist casualties include Nasser Abu Zaqul, "the central Sinai commander of the terrorist group," according to the army which announced his death last week.
More than 170 extremists have been arrested.
