Are Sinai attacks linked to Egypt’s plan to intervene in Libya?
The Egyptian army thwarted a terrorist attack in the city of Bir al-Abed in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which analysts believe is associated with Egypt’s possible military intervention in neighboring Libya.
CAIRO — The Egyptian army said in an official statement July 21 that it managed to thwart a terrorist attack on a military security post in the city of Bir al-Abed in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
The statement continued that armed forces shot dead 18 militants, one of whom was wearing an explosive belt. The military also destroyed four vehicles, three of which were booby-trapped. Two army soldiers were killed and four others wounded in the incident.
The attack comes in tandem with the Egyptian parliament’s approval July 20 of the deployment of Egyptian armed forces on combat missions outside the country’s borders. The parliament’s vote comes against the backdrop of the events in neighboring Libya.
In a televised speech July 20, Egptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his country’s intervention in Libya has now gained “international legitimacy.”
