Security raids of the Egyptian army and police in Sinai, codenamed “Operation Nesr (Eagle)”, to sweep and cleanse the area of terrorists will be suspended during Eid el-Fitr holiday, a source in the army has reported.

The source added that the state of emergency will remain in place while inspection procedures will be tightened during the holiday to protect security headquarters vital institutions and in case of any incidents that threaten the security and safety of the citizens.

The Egyptian army and police had begun a wide-ranging security raid in Sinai as heavy military reinforcements arrived there following the Rafah attack which claimed the lives of 16 Egyptian soldiers.