Egypt airstrikes in Sinai kill 20 'terrorists' in reprisal for attacks on military posts
鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
The Egyptian military launched its first airstrikes in the Sinai peninsula in decades today, killing 20 鈥渢errorists,鈥� Egyptian state-run media reports.
The airstrikes along the Israeli-Egyptian border came after several Egyptian military checkpoints in the region were attacked overnight and three days after unknown gunmen attacked Egyptian border guards. The incidents have left Egypt lurching to contain the Sinai's growing lawlessness, which has been fostered by the upheaval of post-revolution Egypt and poses an important challenge for the country's new leadership.聽
An unnamed Egyptian senior military official told Agence France-Presse听迟丑补迟 in the village of Tumah, near the Gaza border, by Apache helicopter strikes. The military source said the operation was ongoing and other airstrikes have been reported in neighboring villages.
The attacks came the day after a military funeral for the 16 men who were killed by suspected militants on Aug. 5, when聽gunmen disguised as Bedouins staged an assault on a border post as guards stopped to break the Ramadan fast. The attack was the , according to Reuters.聽
The border unrest and escalating reports of militant and criminal activity in the Sinai region are seen as a test for Egypt鈥檚 new president, . The Washington Post reports:
Morsi is under heavy pressure to endorse a crushing crackdown on militants in the Sinai, but any missteps or abuses could trigger a backlash from Islamists, his main political base.
On Tuesday, Morsi stayed away from the military funeral for the 16 slain soldiers 鈥� a conspicuous absence for a leader whose thorny relationship with the military is being closely watched. Angry Egyptians heckled and tried to assault Prime Minister Hesham Kandil when he arrived for prayers before the funeral, prompting his security detail to whisk him out.
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[W]hile Morsi鈥檚 victory in Egypt鈥檚 first free presidential electionafter decades of repression, it also set up a potential standoff between his government and religious extremists, who are willing to launch attacks against the state in order to further their own agenda.
鈥淭hose who ,鈥� Morsi said, according to the Guardian. 鈥淐lear orders have been given to our armed forces and police to chase and arrest those who carried out this assault on our children. The forces will impose full control over these areas of Sinai.鈥�
No group has taken credit for the attack.
The airstrikes today followed overnight clashes between in the region, including Arish and neighboring Rafah, reports Reuters. One checkpoint has been since the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak began, according to the state-funded Middle East News Agency.
Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, an Israeli defense ministry bureau chief, said the Egyptian military was determined to expunge terrorism in Sinai. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 it will continue to strike,鈥� Mr. Gilad told Israel Radio today
But Mona Zamalot, an anti-militancy activist in the city of al-Arish, told the Washington Post she fears militants will move into the Sinai's towns if the government and military crackdown continues.聽鈥淚f the militants stay in the desert and mountains, they will fall,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey want to go into the cities.鈥�
Ms. Zamalot said an Egyptian military official told her that the men believed to be behind the border post attack 鈥渨ant victory or martyrdom.鈥�
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed support for Egypt鈥檚 efforts to strengthen security in the Sinai and State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the US was committed to improving . Mr. Ventrell added that those in the region would feel comforted when Egypt鈥檚 new Islamist government and neighboring countries fully establish working relations.
Daniel Nisman, an intelligence officer at a security company in Tel Aviv, wrote in an Op-Ed for the Wall Street Journal that the .
In the security vacuum that ensued since Hosni Mubarak's ousting, militant groups from Gaza and elsewhere swarmed into the Sinai Peninsula, quickly establishing a mini-Afghanistan on the Mediterranean. Amongst the sand dunes and jagged mountains, these militants found fertile breeding ground for their extremist ideology, quickly radicalizing the native Bedouin tribesmen who were long considered second-class citizens under the Mubarak dictatorship.
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In the Sinai Peninsula, a strict counter-terrorism doctrine must be enforced upon Egypt, requiring the new leadership to provide tangible results in reigning in militancy within their borders. It would serve the Obama administration well to correct its approach toward post-revolution Egypt.
