Sinai car bomb underscores Egyptian army's tenuous grasp on security
A daily roundup of global reports on security issues
Ten Egyptian soldiers were killed after a car bomb exploded next to their bus in the northern Sinai Peninsula today, underscoring the precarious security situation since former President Mohamed Morsi's ouster.
The number of attacks in the Sinai has increased since the July 3 military coup that overthrew Mr. Morsi, raising concerns that sporadic attacks will flare into a sustained insurgency.
At least 35 people were wounded in the attack, according to the Egyptian military. Egyptian army spokesman Col. Ahmed Quell Ali said the armed forces would 鈥�...purge Egypt and secure its people from treacherous violence,鈥� according to the Egytian El-Ahram newspaper.
have been killed in the Sinai since Morsi鈥檚 disposal, according to the BBC. Militants have also targeted officials in the nation鈥檚 capital. Today鈥檚 bombing comes three days after gunmen assassinated a senior Egyptian security official in Cairo who was聽responsible for investigating Muslim extremists.
An extremist group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has also struck in the Sinai,, according to The New York Times.
The bombing was the deadliest since an Aug. 19 ambush in the Sinai that killed 25 Egyptian soldiers. The Monitor鈥檚 Christa Case Bryant, reporting after the August attack, explained the security stakes:
While details of today鈥檚 attack are still emerging, the overall challenge is abundantly clear. An uptick in militant attacks in Sinai since the military deposed President Mohamed Morsi聽on July 3 places additional strain on security forces already preoccupied with escalating political violence in聽Cairo聽and elsewhere, and has raised concerns that Sinai is on the road to becoming a magnet for global jihadi groups.
The violence is also the result of the 鈥淓gyptian military鈥檚 freer hand to crack down聽after deposing聽President Mohamed Morsi聽and the Muslim Brotherhood last month,鈥� the Monitor reports:聽
The Army for the longest time has been holding back from interfering in Sinai,鈥� says Sameeh, a high-ranking security official in northern Sinai who would give only his first name. 鈥淭he elements in this area fear that they might lose this [strategic area] now that we have deployed more tanks and we鈥檙e putting more effort into clearing this area, so obviously they are going to fight back."
The Egyptian army is 鈥渇ighting an insurgency using very forceful means,鈥� Anna Boyd, the manager for country risk in the Middle East and Africa at London鈥檚 IHS Jane . In the Sinai, the army has used 鈥渉elicopters, tanks, and other heavy weaponry in its campaign,鈥� Reuters writes.
The instability in the Sinai has also set neighbor Israel on edge, The Monitor reported in August: 聽聽
Since Mr. Morsi鈥檚 ouster on July 3, Egypt has launched a major military operation in Sinai, bringing in two additional battalions, which required聽Israel鈥檚 approval. Israel couldn鈥檛 be more eager to contain Sinai militancy after a series of attacks shattered decades of calm along the Israel-Egypt border,聽causing聽Israel to boost elite forces and accelerate construction of a 150-mile border fence. Israeli drones were rumored to be behind the deaths of four of at least 16 suspected militants killed in weekend airstrikes.
