Egyptian troop column moves into the Sinai

Army official says aim is to ‘clean’ areas of insurgents in the northern peninsula

By AP and ToI Staff 7 September 2013, 11:46 am

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Egyptian army soldiers patrol in an armored vehicle, backed by a helicopter gunship, during a sweep through villages in the northern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, in May 2013. (AP)

EL-ARISH, Egypt — A military official says Egypt is deploying new troops backed by tanks and other armored vehicles to insurgent strongholds in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

He says the army will “clean” areas around the towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweyid on the border with the Gaza Strip and two nearby villages, al-Qurea and al-Dhahir, where Islamic militants operate. He spoke on condition of anonymity according to rules.

A witness says the column of tanks, trucks carrying infantry, rocket launchers and other military vehicles on the road Saturday appears to be one of the largest units deployed to the area in recent years. He spoke anonymously for fear of being involved.

The troop movement follows a failed Thursday car bomb attack on the Interior Minister’s convoy in Cairo that killed one person.

Since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on July 3, the Egyptian government began a massive crackdown on terrorism in the Sinai peninsula, launching several operations against jihadists groups operating there.