CAIRO, Jan 19 (Aswat Masriya) – Three "terrorists" were killed in security raids conducted by Egypt's armed forces in the Sinai Peninsula from Wednesday to Sunday, the army spokesman said.

Armed forces Spokesman Mohamed Samir added in a statement that army forces arrested 18 wanted and 35 suspects during the raids. They also destroyed 13 "terrorist meeting points".

Militants have stepped up attacks targeting security forces in Egypt, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula, since the army's ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, which followed mass protests against his rule.

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped last week police officer Ayman al-Desouki, who worked at the Rafah border-crossing. His dead body was found two days later, after sustaining two gunshots to the head, according to a statment by the prosecutor general's office.

At least 30 military personnel were killed in a suicide blast which targeted a security checkpoint in Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid on October 24, 2014, in the deadliest militant attack since Mursi's ouster.