Egyptian Security forces intercept two arms shipments intended for North Sinai insurgents

Security forces intercept two arms shipments intended for North Sinai
insurgents
Sun, 16/10/2016 – 10:11 Al-Masry Al-Youm
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/security-forces-intercept-two-arms-shipments-intended-north-sinai-insurgents

Egypt’s National Security Agency (NSA) has confiscated two shipments of
weapons intended for use by terrorists in North Sinai, the Interior Ministry
said on Saturday.

One shipment was confiscated after a tip-off about weapons being sent to
Sinai from a farm on the Ismailiya-Sharqiya border. Security forces seized
the weapons near the Sarabum ferry boat in Ismailiaya. The shipment
consisted of two pick-up trucks loaded with Austrian automatic weapons,
ammunition and sniper scopes.

The second shipment was intercepted prior to transport from Beni Sueif
governorate to North Sinai. It included shotguns, ammunition and cannabis.

The ministry said that the weapons were likely intended for use in attacks
on police and military personnel.

Egyptian military and security forces have been battling a mounting
insurgency in Sinai since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi in
June 2013.

Militants linked to the Islamic State terrorist group frequently conduct
ambushes, mortar attacks and roadside-bomb attacks in the North Sinai
governorate.

Security forces are often the target, and reports of attacks on security
personnel and conscripts are a weekly occurrence.

In July, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree to extend the state
of emergency in parts of North Sinai for another three months, as of July
29.

The northern part of the peninsula has been under a state of emergency since
October 2014 following a deadly attack on an army checkpoint that left 33
soldiers dead. The decree has been extended several times since then as
security forces continue to battle insurgency in the region, including once
in January of this year, and again in May.

As part of the emergency, curfews are imposed in some regions in the restive
peninsula, mostly located in North Sinai and along the borders with Israel
and the Gaza Strip.

On Friday last week, Islamic State terrorists killed 12 army soldiers in an
ambush in Sinai. On Saturday, the Egyptian Air Force responded with dawn
raids on terrorist targets, allegedly destroying weapons and vehicles as
well as killing numerous terrorists over a three-hour period.