About Egyptian Sinai attack

Sinai tribes 'warned Egypt government about jihadi threat'
Sinai tribes say they repeatedly warned the Egyptian government about a jihadi threat in the peninsula, before Sunday's attack which left 16 Egyptian police officers dead.

"Military intervention came late after we warned the Egyptian authorities about extremism and terrorism in Sinai, especially after the revolution," Sheikh Khalaf al-Maniei, from the Al-Sawarka tribe said Monday.                                   READ MORE




Abu Marzouk :Israel involved in Sinai massacre
Deputy head of Hamas's political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk condemned the attack on Egyptian border guards in the Sinai which claimed the lives of 16 soldiers and rendered many others wounded.

In remarks posted on his facebook page, Abu Marzouk accused the Israeli regime of being involved in the incident, pointing out that Israel knew about the attack in advance and launched a preemptive aerial raid on the perpetrators soon after the incident.                                  READ MORE



Haneyya reaches Egyptian intelligence chief on phone
Palestinian premier in Gaza Ismail Haneyya reached Egyptian intelligence chief Murad Muwafi over the phone on Monday to discuss the murder of Egyptian border guards in Sinai.

The government’s spokesman Taher Al-Nunu told the PIC that the “lengthy” phone call focused on the crime.                                   READ MORE



Hamas: “Salafist Groups In Gaza Must Be Monitored”
Senior Hamas official, Ahmad Yousef, demanded the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip to closely monitor all activities of Salafist Islamic groups in order to prevent Israel from infiltrating them through its collaborators.

He added that such an infiltration pushes these groups to carry out attacks similar to the deadly attack against Egyptian soldiers in Sinai Sunday leading to the death of 16 soldiers.                                  READ MORE




Israel to allow additional Egyptian forces into the Sinai following foiled terror attack
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Intelligence Dan Meridor said Israel won’t object to Egypt bringing heavier military forces into the Sinai Peninsula for the purpose of combating terror groups.

Speaking to Army Radio on Tuesday, Meridor said the terror attack launched from Sinai at the beginning of the week, which killed 16 Egyptian border guards, should be a wake up call to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi that cooperation with Israel is in his interest.                            READ MORE




Jordan condemns Sinai attack; King condoles Morsi
His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday offered his deepest sympathies to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi over the loss of lives in the attack that targeted a number of Egyptian soldiers on the border area in Sinai on Sunday.

In a cable sent to Morsi, King Abdullah strongly condemned the attack, which he described as "cowardly" and stressed Jordan's commitment to stand by the Egyptians in these difficult times, a Royal Court statement said.                                     READ MORE





Mashaal sends condolences to Egypt's Morsi
Hamas chief-in-exile Khalid Mashaal offered his condolences to Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi on Monday after an attack which killed 16 police officers in the Sinai peninsula.

Mashaal phoned Mursi to condemn the attack and stressed that Hamas is concerned about the security of Egypt, a statement said.               READ MORE




Israel returns bodies of Sinai attackers, Egypt vows to crack down on ‘infidels’
Israel has returned the bodies of six gunmen, who killed 16 Egyptian border guards in the Sinai, to its Arab neighbour, Israeli public radio reported on Tuesday.

The six were sent back overnight on Monday, the radio report said.

Contacted by AFP an Israeli army spokeswoman would not immediately confirm the report.                             READ MORE

Egypt allows its soldiers to shoot in Sinai without waiting for orders
Egyptian Defense Minister, Hussein al-Tantawi, has announced that Egyptian soldiers in Sinai will be allowed to shoot if attacked, without needing to wait for any orders from him.

The announcement follows Sunday's attack on a checkpoint on the Egypt-Israel border that left 16 Egyptian border policemen dead.          READ MORE




Gaza sets to streets in solidarity with Egyptian people
Thousands of peoples set to streets Monday night in solidarity with  Egyptian people after 18

Egyptian soldiers were killed in unknown-donors attack  in Sinai Sunday evening.

Salah Sultan, an Egyptian muslim scholar visiting Gaza, said in a speech to the march that Gaza is so far of such coward act.               READ MORE



Palestinians fear deterioration in Egypt ties after attack
Egypt's decision to shut Rafah after terror attack along Egypt-Israel border draws sharp criticism from Palestinians.

Palestinians have expressed concern that Sunday night’s terror attack along Israel’s border with the Sinai would hinder efforts to lift Egyptian restrictions imposed on residents of the Gaza Strip.                            READ MORE




Sinai attacks may stoke Egypt-Israel tensions
At sunset on Sunday, masked RPG-wielding gunmen traveling in two armored vehicles, thought to have been seized from a military checkpoint close to Rafah, attacked and killed 16 Egyptian guards close to the border between Gaza and Israel, wounding seven. Egyptian state television described the attackers as militants and "Jihadists."                               READ MORE




Deadly border attack could unite, test Egypt and Israel
With the relationship between Egypt's new Islamist leader and Israel still in its fragile infancy, the terrorist attack on the border that the two countries share with Gaza over the weekend presented a critical opportunity — and a crucial test.                            READ MORE



Israel considers more Egyptian troops in Sinai
Netanyahu: Israel can only rely on itself; security officials: at least six of those killed in attack wore explosive vests.

Israel will consider any Egyptian request to deploy additional military forces in the Sinai in an effort to retake control of the peninsula and weed out a global jihad terrorist infrastructure, defense officials said on Monday.                           READ MORE




Deadly Gaza-linked Egypt border attack by militants could hurt Hamas effort to reopen crossing
The weekend’s deadly attack on the Egypt-Israel border by Islamic militants with purported ties to Gaza spells trouble for the territory’s Hamas rulers.

Hamas had lobbied Egypt’s new president, a fellow member of the region-wide Muslim Brotherhood, to end Gaza’s 5-year-long border blockade by throwing open a shared border crossing that is Gaza’s only gate to the world.                  READ MORE



Israel urges Egypt to do more in Sinai
The Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, said Monday that a terrorist attack that killed 15 Egyptian soldiers Sunday night should serve as a “wake-up call’’ to the new Egyptian president about the growing danger in the Sinai Peninsula and the border between the two nations.

Masked gunmen attacked an Egyptian army checkpoint around sundown Sunday, as the soldiers were preparing to break their Ramadan fast. An Islamist insurgency has been going on in Sinai for a decade, but the latest attack is among the worst against Egyptian soldiers.                READ MORE





US: Morsi 'Saying Right Things' after Brotherhood Blames Israel
The Muslim Brotherhood blames Israel for Sunday’s terrorist attack, but the U.S. State Dept. said that President Mohammed Morsi “is saying the right things.”

Morsi did not directly blame Israel, leaving that for his party’s officials while he vowed to avenge the deaths of 17 Egyptian soldiers killed by a group of approximately 35 terrorists.                              READ MORE

 'Mossad responsible for Sinai terror attack'
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah all claim that Sunday's deadly terror attack on the Israel-Egypt border was carried out by the Mossad.

According to Ynet, the Muslim Brotherhood posted a statement on its website saying that the attack, which left 16 Egyptian policemen dead, "Can be attributed to Mossad" and was an Israeli attempted to destabilize Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's new regime.

READ MORE


Gazans stranded after Rafah crossing seal
Egyptian authorities sealed the passenger terminal following a deadly attack on Egyptian policemen near the crossing.

Thousand of Gazans are now stuck in the blockaded coastal enclave and many more are unable to reach Gaza to be with their loved ones during the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan and Eidulfitr holiday.                          READ MORE




Tens of Egyptian protesters call on Morsi to expel Israeli ambassador
Tens of protesters gathered by the Israeli ambassador’s house in the posh Maadi district on Monday night calling on the Egyptian government to cut off relations with Tel Aviv.

While the assailants behind the attack that took the lives of sixteen Egyptian soldiers and injured another seven remain unknown, some Egyptians have pointed the fingers at the Israeli state.                    READ MORE





Hezbollah's Nasrallah denounces Sinai attack, calls Israel a major threat
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah condemned the recent attack on Egyptian border guards in Sinai, and described it as a "tragic inciident."

"I send my condolences to Egypt's president, the Egyptian army, and the families of the martyr officers and soldiers," he added in a speech.

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Egyptian Brotherhood blames Israel for Sinai border attack

"Forces both within and outside Egypt have been exerting efforts to abort [Egypt's] people's revolution because of the threat it poses to certain entrenched interests," Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declared in a Monday statement.

The group went on to blame Sunday's deadly attack near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, in which 16 Egyptian border guards were killed, on Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.                         READ MORE




Israel to blame for attack on Egypt border post: Hamas leader
The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniya, has accused Israel of "responsibility" for the attack on the Egypt-Gaza border on Sunday that killed 16 Egyptian border guards and injured seven more.

"Israel is responsible, one way or another, for this attack to embarrass Egypt's leadership and create new problems at the border, in order to ruin efforts to end the [Israeli] siege of the Gaza Strip," Haniya told the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television channel on Monday.                            READ MORE




Egyptian president Morsi confronts a Palestine-Sinai-Israel dilemma
President Mohamed Morsi has announced an official state of mourning over the killing of Egyptian border guards in the midst of an attempted militant attack on Israeli targets on Sunday evening near the Gaza-Rafah border.

Morsi had told state television on Sunday evening soon after the attack that "the criminal act will not go unpunished".           READ MORE





Abbas: Palestine to stand by Egypt against terrorism
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack on the Egyptian–Gaza border on Sunday that left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead, in a telephone call with President Mohamed Morsi on Monday.

The attack was carried out by unknown assailants, and investigations have been launched by Egyptian military prosecutors to determine the culprits.

READ MORE

Rafah-Sinai border will be closed after blast: MENA
According to the official state news agency MENA, Egyptian  security source said that the Sinai-Rafah border will be closed indefinetely following the Sunday blast which left 15 Egyptian soldiers dead and seven injured in the north of the peninsula.          READ MORE

Egypt President Morsi meets with SCAF to discuss Sinai blast
Egypt President Mohamed Morsi is currently meeting with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to discuss the recent deadly attacks on Egyptian border guard in Sinai on Sunday.            READ MORE



BREAKING: Egyptian presidency vows harsh response to Sinai attacks
Egypt's presidential office stated that those responsible for the attacks on Egyptian border guard in Sinai will be punished for their actions as their crime will not be tolerated.          READ MORE



Israel warned citizens in Sinai of imminent attack on Thursday: TV
Israeli media outlets have reported that 15 Egyptian policemen were shot dead by extremists in Sinai. Israeli daily Maariv said that the attack which left 15 Egyptian policemen dead followed a statement issued by Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau on Thursday warning Israeli citizens of an imminent attack.

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BREAKING: Israel to close Karam Abu Salem Gaza-Israel crossing
Following two attacks near Egypt's border with the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces on Sunday evening declared their intention to close the Karam Abu Salem border crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.           READ MORE

Eyewitnesses: Israel launches dozens of shells and grenades at Gaza
Eyewitnesses from Rafah reported that Israeli forces on Sunday night have launched dozens of artillery shells and stun grenades at the southern region of the Gaza Strip, adjacent to the Egyptian section of Rafah city - in the aftermath of the explosion that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers near the Egypt-Gaza border.

READ MORE


Gazas Hamas denies involvement in Egypt border attacks
Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, has declared that it would never infiltrate Egypt's borders nor use weapons against Egyptian military personnel. The statements came in the wake of a deadly attack near Egypt's border with the besieged strip that left 16 Egyptian soldiers dead on Sunday.            READ MORE



Egypt Rafah residents block roads to Gaza
Infuriated at the incident, hundreds of Rafah residents (on the Egyptian side of the Egypt-Gaza border) gathered at the Sadat Square and blocked the road, preventing trucks heading to the port of Rafah ort and tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip.         READ MORE



Egyptian army lays siege to Rafah on Gaza border
An Egyptian security source has told Ahram Online that the army helicopters, with the help of army rangers, are attempting to apprehend suspects in the blast that killed 16 soldiers and injured seven earlier on Sunday evening.           READ MORE



Israeli army: 5 assailants in Egypt-Israel border attack killed
Five gunmen who killed 16 Egyptian guards near the border with Israel before crossing into the Jewish state in an armored vehicle have been killed, an Israeli army spokesperson said Monday.             READ MORE

Cairo-Sharm el-Sheikh tourists’ trips canceled after protests block road
Tour organizers said Sunday that 27 tours were unable to travel due to protests that erupted in South Sinai on Saturday.

Around 900 tourists were scheduled to travel from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo to visit tourist destinations there, according to officials in tourist companies.

READ MORE

Israel says attack should be wake-up call for Egypt
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday he hoped a deadly cross-border assault in the Sinai would serve as a "wake-up call" to Egypt, long accused by Israel of losing its grip in the desert peninsula.

Barak said between 13 and 15 Egyptian soldiers had been killed by militants from an unknown global jihadist group late on Sunday. Israeli forces subsequently killed eight of the gunmen after they tried to breach the border area, he added.     READ MORE

Gaza government meets to discuss Sinai attack
The head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, denied early Monday any Gazan involvement in the bloody attack on Egyptian officers at the Israeli border, Gazan news agency SAFA reported.      

During a meeting with the interior minister and security leaders in Gaza to discuss the incident, Haniyeh rejected the allegation that Gaza was involved in the events, without finding out what group was responsible.          READ MORE





Top Israeli diplomat accuses Iran of sponsoring Sinai attack
A senior Israeli diplomat accused Iran of being behind an attack in Sinai that left 16 Egyptian security guards dead.

“Iranian-backed terrorists again struck at our Southern border today, killing 15 Egyptian guards and attempting to massacre Israeli civilians. Terrorists also shelled Israeli farms and towns along the border,” Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren wrote on Facebook, using an earlier count of the number of guards killed.          READ MORE




Cairo International Airport on alert after Sinai attack
Cairo International Airport has declared a state of extreme emergency after a bloody attack by unknown gunmen killed 16 Egyptian security officers near the border with Israel late Sunday.

Civil Aviation Minister Samir Imbaby has also decided to form an operations room to manage the state of alert and to open channels of communication with all ports.         READ MORE





Armed attacks on Israeli border drag Egypts stocks down
Egypt's stocks lost 0.6 per cent at midday following armed attacks on Egyptian guards along the Israeli-Sinai border on Sunday evening. The attack left dozens killed and injured.           READ MORE



Egypt prepares Sinai sweep after deadly attack
ARISH — Egypt deployed helicopter gunships to the Sinai Peninsula on Monday to hunt for the militants who killed 16 soldiers at a checkpoint along the border with Israel, according to security and military officials. Israel meanwhile stepped up pressure on Egypt to clamp down on the lawless border zone.

The officials said two attack helicopters had been sent and more were expected to arrive in the border town of Arish as Egyptian security forces prepared to sweep the region, which has experienced a surge of violence since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak's regime last year.           READ MORE





Israeli tourism companies cancel reservations in wake of Sinai killings
The attack on an Egyptian security checkpoint near the Israeli border late Sunday that left 16 officers dead has already impacted Egypt’s tourist flow, said Nagui Erian, deputy chairman of the Egyptian Hotels Association.

Erian said some tourist groups have either canceled or called off their reservations, describing the situation as catastrophic for the current active tourist destinations such as Sharm el-Sheikh and the Red Sea.          READ MORE

Update: SCAF says 35 assailants involved in border killings
Thirty-five assailants were involved in the attack late Sunday near the Israeli border that left 16 Egyptian security officers dead, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said Monday in a statement read by state TV. The council added that it considers the attackers “enemies” of Egypt.

The military earlier vowed to seek quick revenge for the deaths.         READ MORE




Hamas leader: Closing Rafah crossing is collective punishment
Egypt’s closing of the Rafah border crossing is a collective punishment for all Palestinians and was not the right decision, Hamas political bureau deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouq said Monday.

In a brief statement on the Sinai attack, which took place yesterday and led to the death of 16 Egyptian officers, Abu Marzouq said it would be better to implement more legal procedures at the border crossing.           READ MORE




Egyptian President Morsi arrives in Sinai following Sunday attack
President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Rafah, the border post between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, is first since the attack on Egyptian border guards by unknown assailants Sunday night.

The president, who travelled via a military plane, plans to honour the families of the victims and injured soldiers.         READ MORE





Three-days mourning for Sinai martyrs: Egypts Morsi
President Mohamed Morsi has issued a three-day period of national mourning for those killed during Sunday's attack by unknown assailants on Egyptian border guards in Sinai, confirmed presidential spokesman Yasser Ali on Monday.

In a press statement, Ali added that the president has vowed to honour the 16 "martyrs" and seven injured soldiers as well as promising to award the victims' families financial compensation.          READ MORE




Observers slam Sinai attack, demand tighter security
A number of prominent Egyptians on Monday slammed the attacks on security officers at the Egypt-Israel border, describing it as a “terrorist” incident and demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

At least 16 Egyptian security officers were killed on Sunday by gunmen in an assault on a Sinai checkpoint. The gunmen then seized two military vehicles and attempted to storm the border into Israel.           READ MORE






Moussa calls for Israel peace treaty amendment, Sinai security
Constituent Assembly member Amr Moussa called on President Mohamed Morsy to urgently demand the amendment of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel so Egyptian security services and armed forces could operate on the border in Sinai.

In a statement Monday, the former presidential candidate said the Sinai attacks “require clear steps that protect the Egyptian state and sovereignty.”

READ MORE




Islamists claim Israel behind Sinai attack
Islamist forces in Egypt on Monday condemned yesterday's attack on security forces guarding the Egyptian border in Rafah, which killed 16 officers and soldiers and wounded seven others.

The statements were made as President Mohamed Morsy, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, General Intelligence Services head Mourad Mowafy and Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin visited Rafah today to assess the situation.

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Military funeral for the 16 Egypt soldiers killed in Sinai attack
A military source stated on Monday that a military funeral will take place on Tuesday at the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier in Nasr City for the 16 border guards killed in Sunday's border attack.

On Sunday, an attack by unknown assailants on Egyptian border guards at the Egypt-Gaza border left 16 guards dead and seven injured.

READ MORE

Egypt president, Tantawi return to Cairo from Sinai after flying visit
President Mohamed Morsi, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, Minister of Interior Ahmed Gamal-Eddin and Head of Intelligence Mourad Mowafy returned from a quick visit to Sinai on Monday, following deadly attack on the Egypt-Gaza border which saw the death of 16 Egyptian soldiers and the injury of seven others. 

The visit lasted approximately two hours and Morsi and his entourage were reported to have arrived back in Cairo at 8pm. This was contrary to initial reports that Morsi would attempt to tour the town of Rafah and visit the site of the border attack.     READ MORE

 


Morsy visits Sinai, vows to avenge soldier deaths
President Mohamed Morsy visited Arish, North Sinai on Monday night to offer his condolences to Egyptian soldiers stationed at the border. He vowed to avenge the deaths of the 16 soldiers killed in Sunday night’s attack.

Morsy was accompanied by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin and intelligence head Mourad Mowafy.

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Egypt political figures, groups call for changes in Camp David treaty
Reactions by Egyptian political figures, groups and parties to Sunday's terrorist attack that killed 17 Egyptian border guards and injured seven more near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip ranged from anger to sorrow. Many demanded that Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsi, push for the amendment of Egypt's Camp David peace agreement with Israel and the security arrangements stipulated therein.

"What happened in Sinai is a deep wound," said, Mohamed Mahsoub, the newly-appointed parliamentary affairs minister.

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Egypt stocks stumble on Sundays Sinai border attack
Egypt stocks ended in the red on Monday on the back of Sunday's Sinai border attack and a wave of selling on the part of Egyptian and Arab investors. Foreign investors, meanwhile, represented net purchasers for the day.

Sixteen Egyptian soldiers were killed and seven injured on Sunday night in a deadly attack by an unknown group near Egypt's borders with the Gaza Strip and Israel.          READ MORE




US ready to help Egypt after terrorist Sinai attack
The United States on Monday condemned the killing of 16 Egyptian guards in an attack on a border post near the Israeli frontier, saying it was ready to help Egypt secure the increasingly lawless Sinai peninsula.

"We condemn in the strongest terms yesterday's deadly terrorist attack," acting deputy State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said, offering US condolences to the victims and families as well as President Mohamed Morsi.         READ MORE



Gaza PM calls for permanent Palestinian-Egyptian security committee
Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Monday called for the establishment of a permanent security coordination committee with the government of Egypt after yesterday's attack on the Egypt-Israel border in Sinai.

Haniyeh denied any Palestinian involvement in the attack, saying, “Palestinians would never kill their Egyptian brothers.”

“Compromising the security of Egypt is a compromise to Palestinian national security,” Haniyeh said at an emergency meeting of his government in Gaza on Monday.

                     READ MORE




Egypt Military: Elements from Gaza involved in Rafah border attack
In a military audio statement aired on state television Monday afternoon, the armed forces presented their account of the deadly attack on the Egyptian-Israel border Sunday.

"A terrorist group of 35 people attacked a border guard south of Rafah Sunday evening at 7pm, right around Ramadan Iftar time, where 16 of our soldiers were martyred and 7 injured; three of them severely injured. The terrorist group then took over an army Armed Personnel Carrier and used it to penetrate the Egypt-Israel border where Israeli forces destroyed it."               READ MORE