Cairo closes off routes in and out of the peninsula in an effort to thwart further terrorist attacks on security checkpoints.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONEgyptian soldier in Sinai 370(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Egyptian army is strengthening its presence in Sinai and trying to close off routes in and out of the region while it continues to destroy tunnels that connect with Gaza, according to a report by the Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm on Sunday.Egyptian military forces have prohibited fishing off the coast of northern Sinai in order to stop Palestinian terrorists from entering by sea, according to Egyptian security officials quoted by the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency on Sunday.The army crackdown on the tunnels has led many to enter Egypt on fishing boats at night, according to the report.A boat carrying 10 Palestinians was recently intercepted by the Egyptian coast guard and four of them belong to a jihadist group in Gaza, according to Egyptian officials.Ongoing terrorist attacks in Sinai continued on Sunday with gunmen attacking security checkpoints in El- Arish by firing three Grad rockets, killing and injuring a number of people according to a report by the Egyptian State Information Service.Meanwhile, Egyptian security forces arrested a terrorist who attacked a checkpoint on Sunday using automatic weapons. Apache helicopters helped locate and apprehend the terrorist, according to the Daily News Egypt.Sources told the Egyptian paper El-Watan that this week will be decisive regarding military operations in Sinai and that more than 10 operations will be initiated after various sites have been monitored in preparation.Since the toppling of former president Mohamed Morsi by the army earlier this month radical Islamic terrorists in Sinai have stepped up their attacks on Egyptian security forces.There have been reports that guerrillas originating in Gaza are active in Sinai.
