Egypt’s army says it has killed nearly 300 militants since the start of fresh military operations in the volatile Sinai Peninsula last week.

On Saturday, the Egyptian military said its forces have killed 296 militants in the operations that were launched last Monday around the North Sinai towns of Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and el-Arish.

According to the army, two soldiers lost their lives on Saturday, the sixth day of the vast offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Some 64 terrorists were also killed in the process.

The army troops also arrested a number of suspected militants and destroyed several terrorist hideouts in the area.

Cairo says the new military campaign is aimed at uprooting the Takfiri elements that use the Sinai Peninsula as a safe haven for their terror activities.

Since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, in July 2013, gunmen have launched terrorist attacks in Sinai, killing a large number of Egypt’s security forces and civilians.

Velayat Sinai terrorists have claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in Sinai Peninsula. Last November, the group pledged allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group, which is wreaking havoc primarily in Iraq and neighboring Syria.