The Egyptian army killed two terrorists and arrested five in fighting in Sinai
on Monday, according to the Egyptian newspaper
Al-Youm al-Sabaa.
The army
also captured weapons near its borders with Gaza and Libya, according to a
report in Egypt’s
Al-Ahram newspaper on Monday.
Meanwhile on the same
day, Egypt destroyed eight smuggling tunnels near its border with Gaza, a report
from
Al-Masry al-Youm said.
On Sunday, gunmen killed two Egyptian
soldiers in an attack on a military facility near the Suez Canal city of
Ismailia, a security official said.
A third soldier was wounded in the
attack on the base, located on the road between Ismailia and the city of
Zagazig, to the west in the Nile Delta. The gunmen opened fire from a passing
vehicle, the official said.
Attacks on security forces, many by
terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula with links to al-Qaida, have become
commonplace since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was removed from power by the
army on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.
Morsi’s
detention, which began with his ousting, was extended by a Cairo court on Sunday
for 30 days.
The interim government installed by the army says it is
fighting a war on terrorism, with the army launching a campaign to reestablish
control of Sinai.
Separately, the Russian warship “Varyag,” arrived in
Alexandria on Monday, according to Ahram Online, two days before Russian Defense
Minister Sergey Shoygu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are to visit
Cairo.
Egypt’s moves to improve relations with Russia are seen as a way
to counter US pressure and the recent partial aid freeze as a result of the
military coup and crackdown on Morsi and his supporters.
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