U.S. Army Corps of Engineers installs anti-tunnel sonar system on Egypt-Gaza border
Thursday, September 10, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
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. 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.
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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.