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Egyptian military attack helicopters fired missiles on suspected Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, officials and residents said, in the first Egyptian airstrike in the territory in nearly three decades.
The use of air power marked a sharp escalation in Egypt's fight against Islamic militants who have become increasingly active in the mountainous, desert peninsula bordering Israel in the wake of the ouster of autocratic Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
No precise casualty figures from the government strikes were immediately available. Reuters quoted an Egyptian army commander as saying 20 militants were killed.
"We have succeeded in entering al-Toumah village, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armored cars belonging to terrorists. Operations are still ongoing," the commander, who was not named, told Reuters.
The English-language version of the state-run Al-Ahram news service said only that "many" gunmen were killed or injured.
Over the weekend, militants stunned the Egyptian army with a bold, surprise attack in which gunmen killed 16 soldiers, stole armored vehicles and drove into Israel to attempt another attack. The attackers were killed by Israeli fire.
AFP - Getty Images
Egyptian security forces stand by their armored personnel carriers ahead of a military operation in the northern Sinai peninsula on Wednesday.
Also, on Wednesday, Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi announced that he had fired his intelligence chief and the governor of Northern Sinai in the wake of the deadly weekend attack.
Mursi vowed to restore security in Sinai after the incident on Sunday.
He appointed Mohamed Shehata as acting head of intelligence, presidency spokesman Yasser Ali told reporters.
Ali said Mursi also asked the head of Egypt's armed forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, to name a new head of military police, and named a new head of the presidential guard.
Violence tests Morsi
That was the bloodiest attack on security forces in Sinai since Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, an accord that returned the peninsula to Egyptian control and brought a close to a succession of wars between the two countries. Israeli forces completed the withdrawal from Sinai in 1982.
In a statement read out on state TV, the military said it has started a joint military-police ground operation in Sinai, backed by warplanes, to "restore stability and regain control" of the Sinai. It provided little detail.
The Sunday violence underlined the growing lawlessness of the territory, where security forces repeatedly have been targeted by militants, some loosely linked with al-Qaida.
Ahmed Youssef / EPA
18 days of popular protest culminated in the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011.
After the attack, Israel had called on Egypt to end lawlessness near the border and the Egyptian army promised retribution, branding the attackers "infidels."
Morsi, a moderate Islamist who took office in June, has tried to allay Israeli concerns with promises to bring Sinai back under government control.
The Egyptian army, which kept peace with Israel throughout the Mubarak years, still keeps broad sway over national security. But Morsi has also brought Egypt closer to the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza, making this a delicate time in relations between the Jewish state and the Arab power.
Mohammed Morsi: Protesters' bloodshed will not be in vain
Hamas, which emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, condemned Sunday's attack and said it was trying to help Egypt identify the gunmen.
But the killing of the soldiers by Islamists served to deepen divisions between Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, on the one side, and the largely secular military on the other.
"The same lines of division exist," Mustapha Kamel el-Sayyid, a political science professor at Cairo University, told The New York Times. "People are making new arguments."
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Israel said Egypt's action against the militants was a necessary response against groups threatening its security.
"What we see in Egypt is a strong fury, a determination of the regime and the army to take care of it and impose order in Sinai because that is their responsibility," senior Israeli defense official, Amos Gilad, said on Israel Radio on Wednesday.
Gunmen attack checkpoints
In the latest violence, gunmen opened fire late Tuesday night on three security checkpoints around el-Arish, the capital of North Sinai province, some 31 miles from the borders with Gaza and Israel. One of the attacks was on the checkpoint on the main highway between el-Arish and the town of Rafah on the Israeli border.
Egypt has elected a conservative president who has said he wants to impose Islamic law. How he will change the country remains unclear. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
The shootings wounded six people, among them a military officer, two soldiers, two police officers and a civilian whose condition is critical, security officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
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Helicopters carried out strikes using missiles in retaliation later, security officials told the AP.
Bedouin resident Abdel Rahman Abol Malkhous told the AP he saw attack helicopters overhead firing missiles about 18 1/2 miles east of El-Arish in the area known as Sheikh Zuwayed near the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
The security officials told the AP it was the first time the army has fired missiles in Sinai since Egypt's 1973 war with Israel, in which Egypt tried to recapture the then-Israeli held peninsula.
Under the peace treaty with Israel, a large chunk of Sinai was demilitarized. But in 2005 and following Mubarak’s ouster, Israel agreed to boost the number of Egyptian troops allowed in the area, although they remain lightly armed. The Sunday attack spurred renewed calls in Egypt to amend the treaty to allow for more troops and ammunition in Sinai.
NBC's Andrea Mitchell examines the obstacles ahead for President-elect Mohammed Morsi of Egypt.
Sinai has seen lawlessness and militant violence in the past, but it worsened after the uprising that toppled Mubarak.
Residents say the militants far better armed than the security forces on the ground, which have repeatedly come under attack by militants.
More coverage of the Middle East & North Africa
Israel has long accused Palestinian militant groups of crossing from Gaza to Egypt to team up with local fighters with the aim of attacking Israel's long border.
Mubarak's government worked closely with Israel to secure the frontier region until he was toppled 18 months ago.
The revolt made way for Egypt's first free leadership vote, which brought Morsi into office. His commitment to security cooperation with Israel is now being tested.
NBC News staff, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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This is the start of another "revolution" in Egypt, which will end up just as Libya, Yemen, Iran, Syria and Lebanon in the hands of muslim extremists controlling the government and the country. Civil wars in islamic countries always end with a theocratic dictatorship in charge of raping the population for the sake of allah.
Isn't there an muslim extremist running the country now?
Yes its funny the right was crying that Morsi is a muslim extremist of the muslim bortherhood, and this just proves them wrong.
farideh I almost always agree with you..but maybe the same military that supported Mubarek will keep the country secular and pluralistic and let Morsi be a figurehead leader.Since he is prez and no longer a member of the Bro ..haha.. he´s in the hot seat.The verdict isn´t in yet..As long as the military calls the shots..it´s not hopeless.It´s unlikely that an opposition could get the arms they need.And after this murder of Egyptian soldiers the world will think twice about even a minimum support for the Bro...As for the Muslims raping in the name of Allah,well there would have to be an intervention to save the Copts as well as secular Muslims.I hope you are wrong in this case...Keep plugging away at Islamic terrorism and its chief sponspor in the mideast Iran.When the sugar daddy of Iran is defeated their proxies hamas and hezbollah will no longer have a breast to suck on.We can only hope!!
E.. let me tell you that the right was not wrong about complaining that Egypt is ruled by radical Muslims, Morsi and most of the Egyptian rulers today are members of the Muslim Brotherhood which has as a motto two crossed swords and a Qur'an. Their slogan is "a book and a sword". They have gone out of their way to welcome Islamist who were exiled out of Egypt and to pardon most of the radical Muslims who were imprisoned by Mubarak. What happened last week is that their openness towards these hard core Islamists was rewarded by a cowardly attack which angered and embarrassed the MB.
Egypt today has three flavors of radical Islam: moderate-radical islamist represented by MB and hard core Islamist represented by Salafis, and finally we have the lunatic Islamist, Al Qaeda style, who were behind last week attack on the Egyptian border guards, and are facing the wrath of the MB and most of the Egyptians because of their cowardly attack. These idiots attacked the Muslim soldiers while they are eating their first meal of the day at sunset according to Ramadan's fasting, that shows you how crazy they are.
BTW the same situation exists in Gaza which is ruled by Hamas which has ties with world wide MB organizations, especially the original organization in Egypt. However they are challenged by more hard line Islamists who claim that Hamas is not following the pure Islam.
The lesson we learn from this tragedy and the tragedies in Aurora and in the Sikh temple is that the world is filled with crazy people, and it is better if every religion and every social or environmental cause make sure not to give these crazies a justification for their criminal attitudes.
Well thats all religion is good for is giving people justification for killing others. And are you surprised muslim nations would want to elect muslims to run their country? Did u think they would elect a christian?!
Unfortunately Islam stated clearly that non believers should not be given authority on believers which ended up preventing Christians from taking any significant position in post Mubarak Egypt.
Today there are no Christian Governors, Egypt had one during Mubarak; one minster of scientific research which is just a figure head; and no president of any public university; and the list goes on.
This is a hopeful sign that the new Egyptian government will help keep the lid on things.
It's good to see the Egyptians taking responsibility for the actions of rogue armed mobs inside their borders. Maybe the Pakistanis could take note of how it's done.
Militants? Wouldn't a more accurate term be "terrorists"?
Cassandra or what the extremist who are running the country like to call them infidels. Which means non-muslim. So guess they are going to blame rouge christians.
@Cassandra-854239, if these people are exploding bombs and trying to terrorize civilians, then yes; otherwise, militant is the appropriate term.
To me this looks like the Syria mess starting to spill across borders. Militants may apply the same tactics in Egypt, and since it is impossible to control the use and location of weapons essentially freely handed out by Saudi etc to the Syrian rebels ( or militants, certainly some jihadists, however you wish to dub them - plus probably Al Queada as well ) one kind of expects this to snowball. Turkey may be a good next bet.
Unfort Bob, Turkey would not be the next bet, because most "militants" are from the Sunni side and since 80% of Turkey are Sunni. We all would hope Iran would be the target since that is Shi'it run.
Wow, something new? More violence in the Middle East?
Who attacked who in the Middle East... today? The "attackers and defenders names change" but the M.O. is always, always exactly the same. War and Killing just for the fun of it... apparently.
Since "Cain and Abel" in the Book of Genesis... absolutely NOTHING has changed... not a single thing. The entire area and MOST of the people there KNOW NOTHING BUT VIOLENCE.
Backwards, barbaric, prehistoric animals will use ANY POSSIBLE EXCUSE to KILL one another and THAT is what they are "most famous for".
They "always have some distorted excuse for who attacked who today". Unfortunately, when people hear the words "Middle East", no one thinks of their countless, magnificent Scientific Achievements... people only think of Violence, Murder, Death, Destruction and Misery. They have NO ONE to blame but themselves, and their inherent barbaric nature.
I only wish our government would COMPLETELY LEAVE the area and NEVER return; no more political involvement (ZERO), no more meetings, no more comments, no more visits by ANY of our leaders and no more American taxpayer dollars.
I have YET to hear anyone attempt to calculate how many BILLIONS (if not Trillions) of American taxpayer dollars have been COMPLETELY WASTED on that entire area since the formation of Israel in 1948 by the UN. After 64 years, the entire world continues to suffer the after effects; constant war, death, destruction, violence and everyone's favorite TERRORISM.
The primary reason the Western nations "claim" to be involved is because of the OIL. The mere suggestion that the USA or the UK need even a "single drop of Mid-East Oil is an absolute MYTH".
However those barbaric animals are HELL BENT on destroying each other, it is about damn time that we let them. Obviously and sadly, that is ALL THEY KNOW, so who are we to interfere. Let the rest of the world "sit back and watch them all destroy them selves" from far, far away.
Speedy. Amen to that!!! Time to let these people do what they enjoy most, kill each other off without another US tax dollar.
What makes you think they would contain the killing within their own borders? Just like a cancerous tumor, they not only destroy themselves but spread out to destroy everything around them until finally they have destroyed the very thing that gave them life. It's not the religions so much, it's the radical people that use the name of religion to advance their agenda. Just like here in the old USA.
Well, their wonderful "religion of peace" tells them to kill the infidels (any non-Muslim or non-jihadist Muslim) so we can't expect much more. Being imported to the mosque near you.
Maybe speedy.But when it comes to the nazi type Isalmists in Iran and the nazi types secular fascists in Syria ,we can´t let them chip away at Israel or continue their horrible crimes .If Israel should fall or be defeated in any way.its our throats i.e the rest of the non Muslim "infidels".that will be split too.Make no mistake about it..Too many terrorist attacks are taking place every day in one part of the world or another.There is not even the slightest margin of error to be permitted.No room for even the smallest amount of innocence now.
This is just the beginning with the trouble making terrorists that was elected in Egypt. The only solution these pests know are wiping them off the face of the earth with any means possible. It is satisfying that military is taking responsibility of wiping them out. Kill all of the people who do not want peace in that country.
I can't tell you how in love i am with this sentence.
hambone, you're absolutely right, the sheer bluster and sweeping final solution of that sentence makes it a keeper. Ron is working on that ol' "I am the left hand of god" theme.
Ham
You are not Kosher so you cannot discuss Israel. Beware of the people who do not want peace because they will cut off your head. Better now then later. If the world got rid of Hitler before he started WWII the world would be a better place, he did not want peace either.
How do you know I'm not Kosher? Because of my name? That's silly.
Besides, anyone can discuss Israel. And just to be clear, I generally side with Israel (not always, but generally). I just think the irony of that sentence was more beautiful than a new born baby.
hAM
YOU R SO SO SILLY
Thank you.
Good on ya Egypt!! Now if we could only convince the Palestinians that their cause will only be realized by passive resistance. Think...almost every protest that was non-violent got positive results (Gandhi, MLK), they need to pander to the international community and gain momentum, if they can portray Israel as the "bad guy"...they'll win. Also they have to root out all the riffraff(Hamas & other terrorists)if they want Israel to listen.
If all else fails they could just start another Intifada, albeit on a Syrian/Egyptian scale.
Glad the Egyptian leadership and military quickly and decisively responded to this situation.
Not sure it's wise to over-interpret this as an inidicator of Morsi's policySeems likely this is as much to set right the black eye of militants attacking the military and taking armored vehicles, and using them to try to attack Israel as it is
This newly and freely elected President of Egypt is off to a good start and demonstrating once again that "past," is not "prologue,". He may indeed prove to be THE HOPE of all free Egypt. I therefor wish him an American "HATIKVAH".
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi announced that he had fired his intelligence chief and the governor of Northern Sinai in the wake of the deadly weekend attack.
Sounds to me that Morsi had a hand in this. One way to start firing folks in power to be replaced by his own brotherhood members. Sounds fishy
This maybe true, Muslim brotherhood had always used deception to advance its goals, they are Machiavellian at heart.