Egyptian forces foil 10 attacks in Sinai, official says

Egyptian security forces have managed to foil 10 terrorist attacks on sensitive targets in the Sinai Peninsula in recent days, according to a report Friday that cited an Egyptian military source.

The official also told the Arab daily Al-Shorouk that several attempts to smuggle weapons, missiles and other commodities into the Gaza Strip had been thwarted.

Another report released Friday said that more than 230 smuggling tunnels between Gaza and the peninsula have been destroyed since the beginning of the anti-terror crackdown by security forces in the Sinai seven months ago. The report in the Egyptian paper Al-Youm A-Sabi’ also cited a military official.

Egyptian officials claim that the smuggling industry between Gaza and the Sinai is thriving.

On Monday, security forces in the Sinai arrested 25 terrorists belonging to Hamas and al-Qaeda as they were trying to cross from the northern part of the peninsula to the Nile Delta region in its south.

The terrorists were reportedly found carrying 50 weapons, including an anti-tank RPG launcher, ammunition, and satellite phones. The terrorists were also in possession of maps and photos of strategic installations in the peninsula.