U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installs anti-tunnel sonar system on Egypt-Gaza border
CAIRO — Egypt has completed the installation of U.S. systems to
detect the construction of smuggling tunnels along the border of the Gaza
Strip.
Egyptian security sources said the installation was conducted by the
Egyptian military and Interior Ministry. They said the effort was overseen
by the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers, which provided the equipment.
"The equipment has been tested along the Gaza border," a security source
said.
On Sept. 8, a U.S. Army delegation toured the 14-kilometer Gaza-Sinai
border and attended the demonstration of the tunnel detection system, Middle East Newsline reported. The
sources said Egyptian security officers briefed the delegation on the
initial performance of the systems as well as efforts to block weapons and
other smuggling from the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.
The sources said full operation of the tunnel detection systems was
expected to be launched in late 2009. They said the systems operate by sonar
and succeeded in detecting several tunnels that span the divided town of
Rafah.
The United States has allocated $23 million to bolster Egypt's efforts
to stop weapons smuggling along the Sinai-Gaza border. The effort has been
overseen by the Corps of Engineers and included training of Egyptian
security personnel and the transfer of tunnel detection systems and other
equipment to Cairo.
Egypt has reported significant gains in the effort to stop smuggling to
the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. In August 2009, Egyptian security forces
were said to have seized more than 12 tons of explosives identified as TNT.
The sources said up to 800 tunnels were believed to have been
constructed between Sinai and Gaza. They said about 200 of them were
operational, with many under the direct control of Hamas.
