CAIRO: Egyptian jets bombed a gathering site of Sinai-based Islamist militants, killing 12 and destroying several four-wheel-drive vehicles, the military said on Tuesday.
An Islamist insurgency in the rugged, thinly populated Sinai Peninsula has gained pace since the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
The air strikes “resulted in the killing of 12 highly dangerous ... leaders of Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis,” the military said in a statement. It did not say when the aerial bombing took place.
Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, Egypt’s most active militant group, swore allegiance to Islamic State in 2014 and adopted the name Sinai Province. It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen in attacks since then. The group has turned its guns on Egyptian Christians in recent months, killing around 100 in bombings at Coptic churches.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi carried out air strikes on militants in Libya in response to a deadly attack on Coptic Christians last month that left at least 29 killed.
Egypt’s military says it has killed thousands of militants in operations in Sinai. Residents of the Sinai say the high death rates include civilians.
Egypt kills 12 militants in North Sinai air strike
Egypt kills 12 militants in North Sinai air strike
Israeli foreign minister visiting Somaliland, sources say
- Territory lies in northwestern Somalia along strategic Gulf of Aden and shares land borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti
- Netanyahu has said Israel would pursue cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology, and has invited Somaliland’s president to visit Israel
NAIROBI/JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, on Tuesday, two sources told Reuters, 10 days after Israel formally recognized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent state.
One of the sources, a senior Somaliland official, said Saar would meet Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties. The second source confirmed the Israeli minister’s presence in Somaliland.
The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Saar was in Somaliland.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as a sovereign state on December 27, a move that drew criticism from Somalia, which has long opposed Somaliland’s efforts to secede. No other country has formally recognized Somaliland.
At the time, Abdullahi said Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered by the Trump administration in 2020 that saw Gulf states the United Arab Emirates — a close partner of Somaliland — and Bahrain establish ties with Israel.
Somaliland, once a British protectorate, has for decades sought formal recognition as an independent state, though it has signed bilateral agreements with various foreign governments on investments and security coordination.
The territory lies in northwestern Somalia along the strategic Gulf of Aden and shares land borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland follows two years of increasingly strained ties with many of its closest partners over the war in Gaza and policies in the West Bank.
Strategic location
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would pursue cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology, and the economy, and has invited Somaliland’s president to visit Israel.
Somaliland sits across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis have launched long-range missile and drone attacks on Israel since October 2023, coinciding with the Gaza war.
Somaliland has denied that the recognition agreement allows for Israel to establish military bases there, or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel’s government has advocated for what officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.
