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Egypt begins security operation against ‘terrorists’, closes Gaza border
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Egypt on Friday launched a major security operation involving the army and police against "terrorist and criminal elements and organizations" across the country, the army front man said.The army front man said the operation covers areas in Sinai, the Delta and the Western Desert and it follows a three-month deadline set by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi to crush a years-long Islamist insurgency. "The law enforcement forces began this morning implementing the comprehensive confrontation against the terrorist and criminal elements and organizations in northern and central Sinai," an army front man said in a televised statement. Operational and training maneuvers The army front man said the operation will involve operational and training maneuvers to tighten state control on the country's crossing points with neighboring countries, and urged full cooperation with the law enforcement forces involved in the operation. Residents reported hearing extensive air activities above the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, which is close to the area of operations in northern and central Sinai. Security forces have for years battled an ISIS insurgency in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police. The gunnies have expanded their targets to include civilians over the last year or so. Closing the Gazoo border Egypt closed its border on Friday with the Gazoo Strip, Paleostinian officials said, after Cairo launched a major operation against jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula. The head of Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",, the Islamist group which runs Gazoo, was however permitted to travel to Cairo for talks before the border was closed a day earlier than planned. Friday was supposed to be the final of a three-day border opening for humanitarian cases from Gazoo, the first time the Rafah border crossing with Egypt had been open in 2018. "The Rafah border was closed today due to the security situation in Sinai, we were informed by the Egyptian authorities," said Saleh al-Zaq, head of the civil affairs committee which controls the borders. Hamas leader Ismail Haniya crossed the border to Cairo for talks with Egyptian leaders before Rafah was closed, Hamas front man Fawzi Barhum said. He said the talks would include an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal between Hamas and rival Paleostinian movement Fatah that has faltered, with multiple deadlines missed. It was believed to be Haniya’s first trip outside Gazoo since the United States included him on its terror blacklist last month.
17:15 Hours after the Egyptian army started Operation Sinai 2018 to fight terrorism this morning, the interior ministry said it killed three members of the banned Hasm terrorist group in a shootout in an under-construction residential building in Cairo. The ministry said its comprehensive security plan to curb the group’s actions in Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Beheira, Menoufiya, Sharqiya, Assiut, and Fayoum led to the arrest of 14 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood following raids on their hideouts on Friday, the ministry said. Posted by: Fred 2018-02-10 |
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