EL-ARISH, Egypt – Egyptian troops and tanks backed by helicopter gunships swept through villages in the northern Sinai Peninsula near the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday, the third day of a major offensive against Islamic extremists, a military official said. About 20 suspected militants have been killed and 20 captured in the operation, he said.
Explosions rocked el-Mahdiya and Naga Shabana, two of several villages south of the town of Rafah, the official said, where the military hit targets and shelters used by militants wanted for the killing and abduction of Egyptian soldiers over the past year.
A day earlier, an Al-Qaida-inspired militant group based in the area claimed responsibility for last week's failed assassination attempt on Egypt's interior minister, describing the Cairo attack as a "suicide" car bomb.
The claim could not be independently verified, but it appeared on militant websites that regularly distribute statements from Al-Qaida-linked groups. If true, it would mark the first time Sinai militants took their fight to the heart of the Egyptian capital with a suicide attack.
Associated Press
