Egypt pours military might into North Sinai

[bemildred]

(CNN) -- Gunmen attacked a police station Thursday in North Sinai, firing several rounds, the latest in a string of violence in the critical area.

Egypt sent a huge convoy of military reinforcements into the region in hopes of bringing security and stability. Heavy equipment including bulldozers and cranes were brought in to help block smuggling tunnels into the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

A police station that was burned down during the uprising in Egypt in January of last year reopened Thursday "to restore law and order back to the highly sensitive area of Sheikh Zuweid, where recent clashes took place between the army and armed militants," said Gen. Ahmed Bakr, head of North Sinai security.

The developments come days after 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed and seven others were wounded when assailants with semiautomatic weapons and hand grenades stole two armored vehicles from Egyptian forces and tried to enter Israel.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/09/world/meast/egypt-violence/index.html

[holdencaufield]

1. "Heavy equipment including bulldozers..."

I hope to heaven they weren't Caterpillars

[The Magistrate]

2. A Fairly Good Sign, Sir

There was some question whether the new Egyptian governing arrangements would live up to previous commitments.

It looks like, as so often happens, radical elements overplayed their hand a bit here.

"Romney loves America like a tick loves a dog."

[bemildred]

3. Yes Sir, I assume they have "permission" for it too.

So yeah, definitely a good sign.

Edit: and yes, the "radical elements" appear to have stepped in it.

[pelsar]

6. it appears to be a lot messier than that...

seems to guys who were "tossed out" were based on politics as the MB and army "cleaned house politically.

the Bedouin are not buying the reinforcements as a good thing and hamas which has a deal with th egyptians to warn them about any attackers did not.....

egypt has now close the egyptian/gaza border again and the re-enforcements are reenforcing areas that dont need them.... (israeli papers)
___

summary? politics as usual...

[zellie]

4. Well, that lovefest lasted

all of 3 days.

Too bad... Egypt now owns gaza.

[azurnoir]

5. Really Egypt owns Gaza? so now Israel will no longer be blockading it or can we now say

Israel is blockading Egypt's land?

[King_David]

9. The latter nt

[azurnoir]

11. so you are claiming that Israel is commiting an act of war against Egypt?

and what would you like to see come of this situation?

[bemildred]

7. Egypt arrests 9 militants linked to deadly weekend attack in Sinai

EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian troops and security forces on Friday detained nine Islamic militants in northern Sinai believed to be behind a surprise attack last weekend that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers, a security official said.

It was the first reported arrest in connection with the attack, which took place last Sunday and which sparked a major Egyptian military operation in the Sinai Peninsula aimed at stamping out Islamic militant groups that have become bolder and grown in numbers since the ouster last year of Hosni Mubarak.

So far the effectiveness of the 4-day-old operation is not clear. Despite the influx of troops, militants have continued low-level attacks on Egyptian troops and security forces. One famous checkpoint on the road linking Rafah border town with the city of el-Arish comes under attack almost daily. Officials say that militants open fire at night, engage in brief firefight then flee.

In the raid early Frida morning, troops stormed a house in Sheik Zweid, close to the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, and caught the nine suspected militants while they were asleep. Among them was Selmi Zeyoud, whom the official described as a “dangerous element” and a brother to a slain jihadist. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypt-arrests-9-militants-linked-to-deadly-weekend-attack-in-sinai/2012/08/10/b5061766-e2e2-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. have no fears; new boss/old boss, almost the same thing really..

affairs in Sinai have been developing along very interesting lines since the removal of the outermost figurehead of the military dictatorship (the main body of which has survived intact and promotes business-as-usual at reasonably acceptable levels). For example the nearby gas pipeline to Israel and the hashemite dictatorship in Jordan has been bombed no less than 14 times in that period.

The Egyptian military, being unable to directly combat the growing resistance to state authority from the local bedouin and other forces, are making a show of punishing largely unrelated Palestinian groups on the border. That is of course the preferred modus operandi for the allied Egyptian, Israeli, and Lebanese official armed forces whenever keeping up appearances is necessary and making a show of "doing something" is in order. The current SCAF/Brotherhood/Israeli narrative of trying to trace back all of the recent militant activity in Sinai to Gaza are really missing the more interesting story: the militant current developing independent of their bete noir.

[bemildred]

10. I do wonder about that.

It's a large area conveniently close to the Israeli border, with weak government control, made weaker by the recent disorders, and treaty restrictions.

If what you say is true, there will be more attacks, and it will get harder to blame it on Gaza.

The Samaha arrest in Lebanon is interesting too ...