Egyptian air forces killed 19 terrorists in the country's North Sinai, the army's spokesman said Thursday.

In a press statement, the spokesman said the air forces bombed a number of terrorist hotbeds in northern and central Sinai, killing 19 terrorists and destroying four pick-up vehicles.

A leading member of the Islamic State-affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group was among the dead, the spokesman added.

Hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks by terrorists since the army ousted former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

The ABM claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government terror attacks in the country.

Egypt's security forces have been launching massive anti-terror operations in North Sinai that left hundreds of terrorists killed and a similar number of suspects arrested.

Source: Xinhua