This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24001833
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Egypt army attacks Sinai militants | Egypt army attacks Sinai militants |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Egyptian army has launched a major offensive against militants in Sinai. | |
| Eyewitnesses told the BBC that tanks, armoured vehicles and troops - backed by Apache helicopters - had attacked the militants in towns along the border with the Gaza Strip. | |
| The operation is said to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai. | The operation is said to be the biggest of its kind in recent years in Sinai. |
| Meanwhile Egyptian soldiers have discovered mortars and other explosives on a railway line near the Suez Canal, the state news agency reports. | |
| There have been frequent attacks on pipelines and security forces since the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. | There have been frequent attacks on pipelines and security forces since the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. |
| On Thursday a powerful explosion targeted Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim as he left his Cairo house for work. | |
| He survived unscathed, but officials say another person died. | |
| Column of tanks | |
| A military official, who spoke anonymously, told the Associated Press that the army would "clean" the areas in Sinai where Islamic militants operated. | |
| This included the towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweyid and nearby villages, he said. | |
| A witness told the news agency that a column of tanks, trucks carrying infantry, rocket launchers and other military vehicles were in the area. | |
| The BBC's Bethany Bell in Cairo says there are reports of casualties. |