Fighting continues in the peninsula as gunfire raises tensions along Egyptian-Israeli border.
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONEgyptian army 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer)
An Egyptian military spokesman said on Sunday that the army will not allow any harm to national security and that the situation in Sinai will be settled shortly, according to a report by the Egyptian State Information Service.Colonel Ahmed Ali said in a statement to Sky News, “The Egyptian army will not allow any harm to national security and the Egyptian army has the potential, capacity and information to resolve the situation in the right time.”On Sunday evening, the IDF declared a state of alert in areas near the Israel-Egypt border, and residents were told to stay in their homes as tensions have increased because of the fighting on the Egyptian side, according to Israel Radio. No casualties have been reported on the Israeli side of the border.Meanwhile, the Egyptian State Information Service also reported on Sunday that the army has killed 37 terrorists and wounded 42 so far in their security operation in the Sinai.Unidentified gunmen attacked four army and police checkpoints in Rafah and Arish while gunmen fired at an army checkpoint in front of the Rafah municipal council using RPG launchers and attacked Sukkar, Al-Mahager, and Al Matar checkpoints on Al- Arish ring road.Two soldiers were injured in these attacks, according to the report.Security sources said that the army exchanged fire with gunmen and that apache helicopters chased the fleeing gunmen into neighboring fields.
