Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has reported another counter-insurgency offensive in
the Sinai Peninsula.

Officials said Army units, backed by attack helicopters and main battle
tanks, were storming suspected Al Qaida-aligned strongholds in northeastern
Sinai.

The officials said the Army, in what was dubbed “Operation Desert Storm,” was making extensive use of the U.S.-origin AH-64 Apache attack helicopter to flush out insurgents.

“Security operations conducted by the armed forces and police in north Sinai to hunt down armed terrorists [led to] the liquidation of 10 of these armed terrorist elements,” Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency said. “The forces also managed to capture 20 of these elements.”

Officials said the latest CI operation focused on the 40-kilometer stretch between the provincial capital of El Arish and the border town of Rafah, divided between Sinai and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. They said the military has determined the presence of some 500 insurgents in this area.

In July, Al Qaida-aligned and other insurgents have intensified attacks
on the army and security forces. Officials acknowledged that the attacks led
to the shutdown of El Arish International Airport, targeted by the Islamist
gunmen.

Officials said Operation Desert Storm also deployed Army units along the
route from Cairo and Suez to Sinai. They said Muslim Brotherhood gunmen were
making their way to the turbulent peninsula to join in attacks on the army
and Central Security Forces.

“We will very decisively deal with any attempt to undermine stability,”
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said.

  AH-64 Apache, Egypt’s ‘Operation Desert Storm’ hits new Al Qaida front in northeast Sinai, El Arish, Gaza Strip, Mohammed Ibrahim, Rafah