A spokesman for the Egyptian military said Sunday that it had taken the upper hand in a two-month-old campaign to rid Sinai of militants, repairing a “security collapse” after the revolution of January 2011

A spokesman for the Egyptian military said Sunday that it had taken the upper hand in a two-month-old campaign to rid Sinai of militants, repairing a “security collapse” after the revolution of January 2011.

“The last week included a decisive confrontation with elements that threaten national security,” the spokesman, Col. Ahmed Ali, said in a televised news conference to discuss the continuing campaign.

An unnamed Egyptian military official told Israel Radio that since the start of operations in the Sinai, the army has uncovered 10 tons of weapons -- including weapons from the Hamas military wing Izzadin al-Qassam in Gaza.

“More than 100 militants have been killed by soldiers since the start of military operations in the Sinai Peninsula,” Ahram Online and al-Masry al-Youm reported.

Ali said the army has arrested 309 militants in Sinai and destroyed 154 tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.

A source in the Egyptian defense establishment told London-based Asharq al-Awsat the army will focus on striking nine suspected militant strongholds in northern Sinai where hundreds of gunmen are believed to be positioned.

Hamas denied Sunday accusations made by the Egyptian army's spokesman who said hand grenades bearing the stamp of the movement’s military wing were found in Sinai.

In a statement published on the information office website of the Islamic resistance movement, the group described the claims as “lies and fabrications.”