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 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Egypt army launches offensive against Sinai militants | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
At least nine Islamist militants have been killed in a major offensive by the Egyptian army in Sinai, security officials have said. | |
Eyewitnesses told the BBC that tanks and troops, backed by Apache helicopters, had struck the militants in towns along the Gaza Strip border. | |
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 defused mortars and other explosives found on a railway line near the Suez Canal. | |
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. | 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. |
And on 24 August, at least 24 Egyptian policemen were killed in a militant ambush in the Sinai peninsula. | |
Column of tanks | Column of tanks |
The Sinai military offensive targeted suspected militant outposts near the towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweyid, as well as nearby villages, reports say. | |
Army helicopters carried out air strikes aimed at destroying weapons caches, vehicles and hideouts. | |
A military official, who spoke anonymously, told the Associated Press that the army would "clean" the areas in Sinai where Islamic militants operated. | A military official, who spoke anonymously, told the Associated Press that the army would "clean" the areas in Sinai where Islamic militants operated. |
A witness told the news agency he had seen a column of tanks, trucks carrying infantry, rocket launchers and other military vehicles. Smoke was also seen rising from the area. | A witness told the news agency he had seen a column of tanks, trucks carrying infantry, rocket launchers and other military vehicles. Smoke was also seen rising from the area. |
A security official said "dozens" of insurgent suspects had been wounded in the attack. | |
"This is by far the largest operation we have seen and the one we have been waiting for,'' said Sheikh Hassan Khalaf, a tribal leader from the targeted area. | |
The northern Sinai has long been a haven for militant groups, but clashes with the army have surged since July when Mr Morsi was deposed, the BBC's Bethany Bell, in Cairo, reports. | |
The army has accused the ousted leader of being too lenient toward militant activity in the region, after he released Islamists from prison and vetoed military operations in Sinai. | |
Rebel fighters in the region can threaten Israeli cities with long-range rockets. Weapons are being trafficked across the desert from Sudan and Libya into the Hamas-run Gaza. | |
Analysts say the army's crackdown down on Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood is adding impetus to militants in the northern desert. | |
Egyptian deployments in the peninsula are subject to the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. |