Egypt says 11 terrorists killed in Sinai

CAIRO: The Egyptian military said yesterday that 11 “terrorists” have been killed in its campaign against militants in the Sinai peninsula.
An army statement, read out on state television, contradicted earlier claims of having killed 20 militants in helicopter strikes, in a campaign launched after gunmen killed 16 soldiers in an Aug. 5 attack on an army outpost.
“The armed forces, in cooperation with the police, has arrested 23 people, killed 11 terrorists and wounded one since the start of Operation Eagle,” it said of the campaign involving tanks and helicopters.
Earlier, the military said it would broaden its offensive against militants in the Sinai Peninsula.
But Israeli officials have also privately voiced concerns about heavy equipment being sent to an area where there are restrictions on weapon deployments under a 1979 peace treaty.
Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi told Reuters on Monday in his first interview with international media that Egypt was committed to all treaties and, without naming Israel, said no other states should worry about its actions in Sinai.
“As of the morning of Aug. 29, in continuation of the military operation, there will be a redeployment of forces in various locations in Sinai to complete the hunt for terrorist elements,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. A military source told Reuters this would involve spreading security forces over a wider area to root out militants.
The campaign is led by the defense minister and head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, appointed by Mursi in a shake-up of the military top brass on Aug. 12. The Islamist president has promised to restore order.
Sisi briefed Mursi on the Sinai operation on Monday. Egypt has not given details of the equipment it has sent to Sinai, but security sources had said aircraft and tanks would be used.
Egyptian television has shown images of Sisi speaking to troops in Sinai at a camp with tanks and other heavy weaponry. The unrest has occurred mainly in North Sinai, where many people have guns and where Bedouin tribes have long complained of neglect by central government.
They say they have seen no benefits from the expanding Sinai tourist resorts.
The 1979 peace treaty limits the military presence in the desert peninsula though in recent years Israel has agreed to allow Egypt to deploy more forces there to stem weapons smuggling by Palestinian gunmen and crime.
Israeli officials, who say they are in regular contact with Cairo, have encouraged Egypt to take tough action against the gunmen behind the Aug. 5 assault and have previously approved the use of helicopters in the operation.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killing of the border guards but a Sinai-based militant organization warned the Egyptian army last week that the crackdown would force it to fight back.