Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — The Egyptian Army has been ordered to significantly reduce
counter-insurgency (CI) operations during the annual Muslim festival of Id El
Fitr.

Security sources said the army cut back on operations throughout the
eastern and central Sinai Peninsula during the Id, which began on Aug. 19.

The sources said the army focused on force protection and was told to respond only to attacks or provocations by suspected insurgents.

“We don’t mean to upset the local population but win their support
against terrorism,” a source said.

For the last 10 days, the Army has conducted Operation Eagle, a CI
mission that targeted Bedouin and Palestinian fighters in Sinai. Around 100 people have been killed in air and ground sweeps of suspected insurgency strongholds in eastern and northern Sinai, particularly the Halal mountains.

Still, the Army has reported clashes with insurgents near the Egyptian
border with the Gaza Strip. On Aug. 18, at least four Egyptian police
officers were injured in a battle with Bedouin and Palestinian fighters in Sheik Zweid, about 10 kilometers from Gaza. The holiday was scheduled to end on Aug. 21.

The sources said a police patrol was ambushed after two suspected
insurgents were captured in Rafah. They said the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at police armored vehicles.

Sheik Zweid has been identified as a leading insurgency stronghold. The
sources said security forces found a range of equipment used by the
insurgents in the town, including an unmanned aerial vehicle designed to
carry an explosive payload.

  Bedouin and Palestinian fighters, Egypian Army scales offensives in Sinai during Muslim festival, Halal mountains, Id El Fitr, Rafah, Ramadan, Sheik Zweid