Egyptian Army kills 12 suspected terrorists in Sinai
Moscow to deliver $2 billion in jets to Egypt in biggest MiG order since fall of USSR
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMONAbdul Fattah Sisi(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Egyptian Army killed 12 suspected terrorists on Monday night during raids in northern Sinai.Security forces arrested another 18 suspects and destroyed terrorist hideouts, Aswat Masriya reported, citing security sources quoted by Egypt’s state news agency MENA .Earlier on Monday a military conscript was killed and an officer was injured, according to military sources.The Egyptian military has continued aggressive operations against terrorists based in Sinai, with almost daily reports of casualties on both sides.In the city of Beni Suef, south of Cairo, a train was damaged after assailants threw Molotov cocktails at it, Egyptian media reported.Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities shut down 50 NGOs on Tuesday for being affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Aswat Masriya reported.Separately, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with a delegation of 300 Russian businessmen headed by Russian Minister for Industry and Trade Denis Manturov at the presidential palace in Cairo, the Cairo Post reported on Tuesday.The delegation is on a two day visit meant to advance prior agreements reached by Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in February when they agreed to establish a Russian industrial zone at the New Suez Canal.“Our talks will focus on developing railway trains....We are also interested in developing an iron and steel factory in Egypt,” said Manturov on Monday during a meeting of the Egyptian-Russian Business Forum.
Sisi has announced mega-projects such as a second Suez Canal and a new capital, recalling some of the grand national programs of one of his predecessors, strongman Gamal Abdel Nasser.Russia agreed to deliver 46 MiG-29 jets to Egypt in a deal expected to be worth as much as $2 billion, the largest MiG order since the fall of the Soviet Union, The Moscow Times reported on Monday, quoting a report in the country’s Vedomosti daily.Reuters contributed to this report.
