Cairo, Sep 7 (IANS): Several militants were killed and dozens injured Saturday in a raid launched by the Egyptian army on hideouts of Jihadist militants in Egypt, a local security source has revealed.

The raids targeted 12 villages in Sheikh Zuwaid city of the North Sinai governorate bordering Israel, reported Xinhua.

The clashes are still going on between security forces and militants.

"It is the biggest military campaign in Sinai since the 1973 war," the security source said.

Around 2,500 soldiers and officers from the army, police and central security forces took part in the operation.

Three vehicles belonging to the militants have been destroyed, but the exact death toll was not clear yet, according to the source.

Security conditions have deteriorated in the peninsula after the ouster president Mohamed Morsi in July this year, after which the army intensified its operations to eradicate the focal points of terrorism and hardline Jihadist movements.