Egypt army launches deadly assault on Sinai militants

Egyptian soldiers stand guard in front of prison in Suez Canal city of Port Said At least 10 people were killed as Egypt's army launched an air and ground assault on Sinai militants Saturday while foiling a railway bombing near the canal city of Suez, officials said .
A prosecutor levelled new accusations meanwhile against Mohamed Morsi, already facing trial on other charges, alleging the Islamist leader insulted the judiciary when he was president, state media said.
Egypt has seen an uptick in bombings and shootings, mostly aimed at the security forces, since August 14 when hundreds were killed in clashes when police broke up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo.
The military has been facing an insurgency in north Sinai, a haven for Al-Qaeda-inspired militants who launch almost daily attacks against security forces.
And on Saturday it pressed a crackdown on suspected Islamist militants on the restive peninsula.
Air strikes were carried out on suspected militant hideouts while armoured vehicles were deployed in the area and along the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip, officers told AFP.
Security officials said at least "10 Islamist fighters" were killed in the air attacks launched by Apache helicopters and in ground operations, while 20 others were wounded and 15 arrested.
The military has stepped up its operations against suspected Sinai militants over the past few weeks and frequently report the deaths of "terrorists".
The latest report cannot be verified because the area is closed to the media.
Also on Saturday, Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing for "security reasons", said Maher Abu Sabha, the crossing's director in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere, police called in military bomb disposal experts after residents from Abu Aref village said they spotted a bomb on the railroad that links Suez with another canal city, Ismailiya.
Two mortar rounds and a rocket-propelled grenade were attached to a fuse and appeared to have been intended for a 6:00 am (0400 GMT) train, officials said.
Hours later, unidentified assailants hurled a grenade at a police station in Cairo, which exploded without causing any casualties, security officials said.
It was the third such attack in weeks on the police station in the working class neighbourhood of Boulaq al-Daqrour.
The developments raised tensions after a car bomb targeted Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim on Thursday as he left his house for work.
Ibrahim, who was unhurt in the attack that killed one person and wounded several others, warned afterwards of "a wave of terrorism".
The umbrella group of Islamists demanding the reinstatement of Morsi denounced the assassination attempt, and said they remained committed to peaceful protests.
But analysts say rogue militants are likely to attempt to carry out attacks as the military and police continue rounding up Islamists.
Morsi has been held since his ouster on July 3 and the prosecutor issued a new detention order for him over his comments that judges had rigged a 2005 parliamentary election.
The railroad between Suez and Ismailiya lies on the west bank of the Suez Canal, with the restive Sinai Peninsula to the east.
On September 1, the head of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Mohab Mamish, said a militant launched an attack against a Panamanian-flagged ship passing through the vital waterway.
He gave no details, but a video posted on YouTube showed two men firing rocket-propelled grenades against a cargo ship, causing no apparent damage.
It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video, which featured the black banner used by Al-Qaeda inspired militants.
For years, Sinai has defied the central government's authority, with its Bedouin population complaining of poverty and discrimination.
But the surge in militant attacks there and elsewhere around the country have raised fears of a revival of the Islamist insurgency that plagued Egypt in the 1990s.
Those attack dealt a blow to Egypt's tourism industry, particularly as key sites that attract holidaymakers are in southern Sinai, along its Red Sea coast.
Sinai unrest has surged since the revolution that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, and attacks on the security forces intensified after the military toppled Morsi in popularly backed coup.
On August 19, militants killed 29 policemen in the Sinai, in the deadliest attack of its kind in years.
Source: AFP