'Egypt helped Israel assassinate al-Qaida-linked terrorist'

According to 'Time' magazine, Egyptian intel cooperating with Israel more than ever before after discovering plot against US soldiers in Sinai.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Gaza explosion in car with crowd (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Gaza explosion in car with crowd
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Egypt gave Israel intelligence that led to last week's Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) assassination of an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist outside Hamas security headquarters in Gaza City, Time magazine reported on Thursday.
Mohammed Namnam, 27, a top operative with the Army of Islam, was killed by a missile shot at his car from an Israeli helicopter.
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Egyptian intelligence reportedly discovered that Namnam was preparing an attack on US forces in the Sinai Desert from other Army of Islam members captured in the Sinai.
An Egyptian security source told Time that this is an unprecedented level of cooperation between Egyptian and Israeli intelligence.
Time posited that the shared intelligence is a result of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's anger after 49 Hizbullah operatives were reportedly found plotting against Egypt in Sinai.
Shin Bet confirmed the assassination shortly after it occurred, adding that Namnam had been involved in the 2006 abduction of Gilad Schalit.
“Earlier today, the Israeli army targeted a ticking bomb,” IDF spokeswoman, Lt.-Col. Avital Leibovitz, told reporters in a conference call.
According to the Shin Bet, Namnam, from the Shati refugee camp, was responsible for a number of attacks against Israel in recent years.

Yaakov Katz contributed to this story.