Egypt arrests
three who fired machine guns on ship in Suez Canal
Authorities also
say they have captured suspected mastermind of ambush that killed 25 police in
Sinai.
Egypt has arrested three people who opened machine
gun fire on a ship passing through the Suez Canal, an army source said on
Sunday, playing down what the waterway's chief described as a terrorist attack.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian security forces reported apprehending a top wanted militant with links
to Al-Qaida in the Sinai Peninsula.
During Saturday's
unsuccessful attack, the Panamanian-registered container ship COSCO ASIA came
under fire in a northern section of the Suez Canal, a major global trade artery
which is secured by the Egyptian armed forces.
"There was
an attempt to disrupt security in an area called el-Qantara as they fired at a
ship in an attempt to halt (traffic on) the waterway," said the army
source.
"Three were
arrested and they have been dealt with ... This attack could not have harmed
the ships," the source said, without giving any details except that an
investigation was underway.
On Saturday, the
head of the Suez Canal, Mohab Memish, said a terrorist had carried out the
operation, suggesting Islamist militants could have been behind it. Suez Canal
Authority sources said a rocket-propelled grenade had been used in the attack.
The sources said
that even if a grenade had struck the ship, it would have had a limited impact.
The aim, they said, was to create a media frenzy and hurt Egypt's image.
Asked if the
military suspected the attack was part of a broader campaign to disrupt the
movement of ships, the army source said. "I don't think so because the
Suez Canal is secured."
Any major attack
on the Suez Canal would hammer Egypt's economy, which depends heavily on
revenue from the 192-km (120 mile) waterway, the quickest sea route between
Asia and Europe.
Egypt has faced a
rising number of militant attacks on security forces in the nearby lawless
North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, ousted the
country's first elected Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, on
July 3.
Growing
insecurity in Sinai worries the United States because the area lies next to
Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as well as the Canal.
The Suez Canal
Authority has received threats from unidentified groups which said they would
target the waterway, security sources said. At one point the military blocked a
bridge over the canal as a precautionary measure because of threats.
Ambush
'mastermind' arrested
Also on Saturday,
Egypt detained a militant suspected of leading an Al-Qaida-linked group in an ambush
where 25 off-duty policemen
were lined up and shot on August 19, security officials said. The attack was
one of the area's worst militant strikes on security forces.
The man, Adel
Mohammed, also known as Adel Habara according to one official, has already been
sentenced to death in absentia for killing soldiers in the Nile Delta last
year.
Earlier Saturday,
security officials said 31 suspected militants have been arrested since
Thursday, including two caught seeking treatment for wounds sustained in
clashes with police.
In other violence
nearby, a riot police officer was shot in the chest Friday while on patrol in
the city of El-Arish, the capital of North Sinai governorate, the Interior
Ministry.
According to one
security official, four militants have also been killed since Thursday. All
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
speak to the media.
Habara's arrest
could potentially undermine militant activities in the area. The security
official said two other suspects were arrested along with Habara.
Source: Haaretz Israeli News
Adapted by Daniel Lucio de Souza
