Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — After a suspension of more than a year, Egypt has received advanced attack helicopters from the United States.

Egyptian and U.S. sources said the Egyptian Air Force acquired 10 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the United States. They said the Apaches arrived in Egypt on Dec. 20, months after their release from the administration of President Barack Obama in May 2014.

“The helicopters are being prepared for operation in cooperation with U.S. representatives,” a military source said.

The source told Egypt’s official Al Ahram daily that all 10 Apaches, held up by Washington since July 2013, arrived in Egypt. The source did not say when the helicopters would begin operations.

A U.S. official said the helicopters began arriving in Egypt by ship in early December. The official said the Apaches, manufactured by Boeing, would participate in counter-insurgency operation in the turbulent Sinai Peninsula.

On the eve of the arrival of the Apaches, Obama spoke to his Egyptian counterpart, Abdul Fatah Sisi. A White House statement said Obama urged Sisi accelerate efforts toward Egyptian democracy.

“President Obama also expressed concern about mass trials, the status of NGOs, and the continued imprisonment of journalists and peaceful activists in Egypt,” the White House said.

  Egypt receives U.S. Apache attack copters that had been blocked since July 2013, WorldTribune.com