Egyptian Army Kills 16 In Sinai Air Raid

Egyptian military forces in al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian government says that dozens of militants have been killed in the area., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Egyptian army kills 16 in Sinai air raid: Spokesman

Ahram Online, Saturday 8 Feb 2014

Strike aimed at militants in the town of Sheikh Zuweid

An air raid by the Egyptian army in the town of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai late on Friday killed 16 “dangerous individuals” according to a military official.

The strike targeted terrorists and militants in the Sinai town, according to the armed forces spokesman's official Facebook page.

Already restive and underdeveloped, Sinai has seen an upswing in militant violence since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer, with regular attacks claiming the lives of dozens of security personnel.

Egypt has poured troops into the region while waging a sustained crackdown on Islamists — principally Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood — elsewhere in the country.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/93756.aspx


Military airstrikes kill 30 militants in North Sinai: media reports

Ahram Online, Monday 3 Feb 2014

Another 15 injured and 16 arrested as army steps up campaign against militants in North Sinai

Thirty suspected militants were killed and another 15 injured in a series of military airstrikes in North Sinai on Monday, the biggest operation yet in the Egyptian army's ongoing offensive against militants in the restive peninsula, according to reports from Reuters and AP.

The strikes took place in the North Sinai cities of Sheikh Zweid and Rafah, as well as in the eastern and southern parts of Al-Arish, said Reuters' Aswat Masriya news website.

Security sources told Aswat Masriya that another 16 were arrested during the operation.

The armed forces have yet to release an official statement from their spokesman.

Dozens of militants have died in recent strikes as the military has launched a campaign to battle a growing insurgency in North Sinai.

Attacks on police and army targets in the region have intensified following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July, with scores of police and army personnel killed.

Recent attacks in Cairo and the Nile Delta have been claimed by the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Four explosions hit police targets in Greater Cairo on Friday 24 January, killing six and injuring at least 80.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/93405.aspx


Four soldiers killed, 13 injured in Sinai ambush

Ahram Online, Sunday 26 Jan 2014

Militants attack soldiers traveling by bus near Suez on Sunday morning, injured taken to nearby military hospital

Four soldiers died and 13 were injured when militants attacked their bus in the Sinai Peninsula on Sunday morning, an army spokesperson announced.

The injured soldiers were taken to Suez military hospital.

The ambush took place 50 metres from a security checkpoint, Al-Ahram Arabic news website said.

The terrorsit attack comes a day after militant group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for bringing down a military helicopter in a rocket attack in North Sinai.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92594.aspx


Egypt militants blow up gas pipeline in Sinai: security

AFP, Tuesday 28 Jan 2014

Suspected militants blew up a pipeline in Egypt's Sinai that transports gas to Jordan late Monday in the third such attack in less than a month, security officials said.

The officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but witnesses said thick flames rose into the sky from the spot where the pipeline was struck. Witnesses also said that ambulances had rushed to the scene.

Egyptian security officials said the pipeline was blown up in an area called Muqtadiba, south of Al-Arish.

On 17 January and 31 December, militants had blown up a section of a pipeline supplying an industrial area in the restive Sinai peninsula.

Militants had previously forced a halt to gas supplies to Israel and Jordan by repeatedly targeting the pipeline following the 2011 overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

Attacks in Sinai against soldiers and policemen have surged again following the military's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July amid mass protests against his rule.

Five soldiers were killed Saturday when a military helicopter was shot down with a surface-to-air missile in Sinai, an unprecedented attack claimed by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92799.aspx


Military helicopter crashes in Egypt's Sinai

Ahram Online, Saturday 25 Jan 2014

Technical problems down a military helicopter in North Sinai's Sheikh Zwayed

A military helicopter crashed in Egypt's North Sinai near Sheikh Zwayed due to technical problems, a security source told the Reuters-affiliated Aswat MasriyaSaturday.

The source said there was a technical problem with engine, detailing that the helicopter fell in the area of Shalaq in Sheikh Zwayed.

Eyewitness accounts confirmed seeing a helicopter crash in a desert area near Shalaq.

Egypt's Sinai has witnessed an escalation in attacks by militants against the army and police since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92496.aspx