A senior security source asserted Saturday that the Egyptian military started its "Desert Storm" operation in Sinai to annihilate ’terrorism’ and violence.

A senior security source asserted Saturday that the Egyptian military started its "Desert Storm" operation in Sinai to annihilate 'terrorism' and violence.

"The military operation aims at besieging the terrorists and their centers in Sinai desert," the source stated.

The first wave of the operation will last 48 hours, and the military will tightly control the main roads that link Sinai with the other governorates, according to the source.

"The security and military estimates indicate that the number of the terrorists is 500, and the intelligence information assert that they are heavily armed and sheltered by human shields," the source clarified.

It is worth to mention that this operation gains public support as Friday's pro-military rallies responded to the army chief's call to back a crackdown on “terrorism and violence."