CAIRO

Egyptian security forces neutralized three suspected Daesh/ISIS terrorists on Monday who were allegedly involved in the execution of a Coptic Christian man in the country’s volatile Sinai Peninsula region. 

The Egyptian army carried out an operation against Daesh/ISIS terrorists who have been targeting Christians, police and soldiers living in the north of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Three of the militants who were involved in the killing of 62-year-old Nabil Habashi Salama were killed during the operation, the statement said.

Daesh/ISIS terrorists had previously released a video showing Salama’s execution.

In his speech in the video, Salama said he was the founder of an Orthodox church in Sinai and had been held captive by the terrorist group for more than three months.

He said he was kidnapped by the terrorists due to the church’s cooperation with the Egyptian police and army against Daesh/ISIS.

The Sinai Peninsula has remained the epicenter of a militant insurgency since 2013, when the army ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, in a military coup.

Terrorists have carried out scores of attacks mainly targeting security forces and minority Christians in the region.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz