Egypt Strikes Sinai Militants
Local Editor
Days after 16 soldiers were killed in an attack attributed to extremists, Egyptian helicopter gunships killed Wednesday 20 militants in Sinai.
The airstrikes around the town of Sheikh Zuwaid, 10 km from the Gaza Strip, followed clashes overnight between armed men and security forces at several checkpoints in the north of Egypt's Sinai region.
Gunmen killed 16 border guards on Sunday in the bloodiest attack on security forces in the Sinai region in decades. They seized two armored vehicles to storm through the border into the Zionist entity, where they were eventually killed by "Israeli" fire.
Witnesses in the town said they saw two military planes fly over the area and heard explosions. Other people near the town said they saw three cars bombed.
Troops entered the village of al-Toumah close to Sheikh Zuwaid as part of the operation after the army received information that Islamist militants were staying there, a military commander in Sinai told Reuters.
"We have succeeded in entering al-Toumah village, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armored cars belonging to terrorists. Operations are still ongoing," he said by telephone.
The Sinai attacks prompted Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood to call for a review of the so-called peace treaty with "Israel" to allow Egypt to deploy forces in the region at its will.
Egypt's army, nevertheless, promised harsh retribution for the attackers.
There was little sign of an immediate crackdown by Egyptian security forces until Tuesday night when armed men opened fire on several checkpoints in al-Arish town, the main state security and administrative center for northern Sinai.
Gunmen also attacked checkpoints in Rafah, Egypt's entry point into the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip that borders both Israel and Egypt.
A statement issued by the interior ministry said three policemen and one resident were wounded in those assaults.
In al-Arish, a town relatively developed compared to others in the region, residents poured onto the streets overnight to demand better protection from the government and arms to defend themselves after the armed men that attacked the town's checkpoints.
The Brotherhood blamed "Israel's" intelligence agency, Mossad, for the attacks on Sinai, stating it was an attempt to undermine Egypt's revolution.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
Days after 16 soldiers were killed in an attack attributed to extremists, Egyptian helicopter gunships killed Wednesday 20 militants in Sinai.
The airstrikes around the town of Sheikh Zuwaid, 10 km from the Gaza Strip, followed clashes overnight between armed men and security forces at several checkpoints in the north of Egypt's Sinai region.
Gunmen killed 16 border guards on Sunday in the bloodiest attack on security forces in the Sinai region in decades. They seized two armored vehicles to storm through the border into the Zionist entity, where they were eventually killed by "Israeli" fire.
Witnesses in the town said they saw two military planes fly over the area and heard explosions. Other people near the town said they saw three cars bombed.
Troops entered the village of al-Toumah close to Sheikh Zuwaid as part of the operation after the army received information that Islamist militants were staying there, a military commander in Sinai told Reuters.
"We have succeeded in entering al-Toumah village, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armored cars belonging to terrorists. Operations are still ongoing," he said by telephone.
The Sinai attacks prompted Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood to call for a review of the so-called peace treaty with "Israel" to allow Egypt to deploy forces in the region at its will.
Egypt's army, nevertheless, promised harsh retribution for the attackers.
There was little sign of an immediate crackdown by Egyptian security forces until Tuesday night when armed men opened fire on several checkpoints in al-Arish town, the main state security and administrative center for northern Sinai.
Gunmen also attacked checkpoints in Rafah, Egypt's entry point into the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip that borders both Israel and Egypt.
A statement issued by the interior ministry said three policemen and one resident were wounded in those assaults.
In al-Arish, a town relatively developed compared to others in the region, residents poured onto the streets overnight to demand better protection from the government and arms to defend themselves after the armed men that attacked the town's checkpoints.
The Brotherhood blamed "Israel's" intelligence agency, Mossad, for the attacks on Sinai, stating it was an attempt to undermine Egypt's revolution.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org
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