Special to WorldTribune.com

The Egyptian intelligence community has determined that Al Qaida has sent scores of operatives to conduct bombings and assassinations in an effort to undermine the new military-backed regime in Cairo,  officials said.

On Nov. 20, at least 11 Egyptian Army soldiers were killed and 35 others injured in a car bombing near the northern Sinai provincial capital of El Arish. The soldiers had been traveling in a convoy to a furlough from Rafah, along the Sinai border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The officials said the bombings targeted Egyptian officials, soldiers and security forces in major cities as well as in the Sinai Peninsula.

“The assessment is that Al Qaida has sent bomb specialists and snipers to conduct attacks in support of the Muslim Brotherhood,” an official said.

In November, Egypt has been struck by repeated bombings and shooting attacks.

“The precious blood of our sons strengthens our resolve to cleanse Egypt
and shield its sons from violence and treacherous terrorism,” Egyptian
military spokesman Col. Ahmed Ali said.

The Sinai attack took place as Islamists conducted another bombing —
this time in Cairo. Officials said at least three people were injured when a
bomb was detonated near a police checkpoint in the Egyptian capital.

The Al Qaida insurgents were also linked to the assassination of a
leading counter-insurgency official. Officials said foreign Arab nationals
were believed to have entered Egypt and gunned down Col. Mohammed Mabrouk on
Nov. 17, an attack claimed by the Al Qaida-aligned Ansar Beit Al Maqdis.

“He was one of the major tyrants of the state security apparatus,” Ansar
said.

Officials said many of the Al Qaida attackers were believed to have
entered Egypt from neighboring Libya. They said Al Qaida, perhaps with
Brotherhood financing, was moving weapons and fighters into Egypt to battle
the military.

  Col. Ahmed Ali, Col. Mohammed Mabrouk, Egyptian intel blames Al Qaida for series of attacks on behalf of Muslim Brotherhood, El Arish, Gaza Strip, Rafah, Sinai Peninsula