Egypt 'Set to Launch Major Sinai Operation'
Reports: Egypt killed 32 Hamas terrorists in recent days and plans a larger offensive, with Israel's approval.
By Gil Ronen -- ArutzSheva 7
First Publish: 7/11/2013, 5:12 PM
Egyptian soldiers
Flash 90
Egypt is planning a
large scale offensive against Sinai terrorists, where it has already
killed scores of Islamist fighters - including 32 Hamas men - in recent
days, according to reports.
Egyptian forces also arrested
several others over the past few days in the Sinai Peninsula, an
Egyptian military source told the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper Thursday morning.
According to the newspaper,
the Egyptian army's military operations in Sinai killed 32 Hamas
militants and arrested 45 of the group's members, as well as about 200
other gunmen.
The Egyptian military source
said Hamas terrorists cooperate with jihadist elements in Sinai. They
enter Sinai through the tunnels that connect Gaza with Sinai, he said,
carry out attacks and then escape through the tunnels. "They take
advantage of the terrain and hide in the mountains," the source added.
Another report claims that the military leadership in Cairo is planning a wider offensive in Sinai. The London Times said that Egypt will ask Israel to allow it to send a sizeable military force into Sinai for a limited period of time.
"Jihadist groups have sought
to exploit the political crisis in Cairo by launching attacks against
Egyptian and Israeli targets in Sinai over recent days," noted the Times.
Current treaties between the
two countries prohibit large-scale military mobilisations in the Sinai
Peninsula, but Israel is unlikely to oppose such an operation, intended
to clear Sinai from extremist terror groups that have gained a foothold
there since the fall of the Mubarak regime in 2011, and who pose a
serious threat to Israel's southern regions.
The operation is scheduled to begin in a few days' time, the report added.
Hamas is the Palestinian
offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters have recently
called for an "uprising" following the removal of President Mohammed
Morsi by the Egyptian military.
Hamas has in the past been
accused by the Egyptian military establishment of working with other
Islamist terrorist groups to destabilise the country.
Labels: Conflict, Defence, Egypt, Israel, Muslim Brotherhood Hamas, Security, Terrorijsm
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, July 11, 2013
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