U.S. trains Egyptians on tunnel detection system near Gaza Strip
CAIRO — The U.S. military has begun testing tunnel detection systems
along the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been testing unidentified advanced
tunnel detection systems in the eastern Sinai. A 14-member U.S. military
delegation has been instructing the Egyptian security forces in the
operation of the system to detect Palestinian weapons smuggling tunnels that
connect to the Gaza Strip.
"The U.S. military plans to train and then relay the systems to Egypt,"
a U.S. diplomatic source said.
In 2008, the Bush administration approved $23 million for equipment to
detect Palestinian smuggling tunnels that connect the divided city of Rafah.
Over the last three months, at least three U.S. military delegations toured
the Gaza-Sinai border to determine requirements for Egypt to detect and
destroy an estimated 200 tunnels, used to transport everything from eggs to
weapons to the Gaza Strip.
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On Tuesday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that this was the
first time a U.S. military delegation was training Egyptian forces along the
Gaza border.
The newspaper said the delegation, which included Defense
Department and U.S. embassy representatives, would remain between five and
14 days in eastern Sinai. The delegation has been based in capital of
Sinai's northern governorate, El Arish.
The diplomatic source said the U.S. training of Egyptian security forces
could take several months. The source said the U.S. military has also
instructed Egyptian officers on methods to detect tunnel construction.