1 soldier killed, 3 injured in armed attacks in Egypt's Sinai

Source : Xinhua

NORTH SINAI, Egypt, July 5 (Xinhua) -- At least one soldier was killed and three others injured in an armed attack by Islamist extremist groups in North Sinai, a security source in Sinai told Xinhua.

An exchange of fire between the extremists and the security forces is still going on, said the source.

The source added that hundreds of gunmen attacked Arish Airport, a security camp in Rafah, a police station and two security checkpoints in Sheikh Zewaid by heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenades in North Sinai that led to the killing of a soldier and injured three others.

The attacks came after the Egyptian army ousted Islamist-oriented president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday in response to millions of protesters who took to the streets and public squares across the country demanding his removal.

Islamist supporters of the ousted president rejected his ouster as "a military coup" and vowed to struggle for Morsi's legitimacy.

Armed attacks on police and military premises and checkpoints prevailed in Sinai Peninsula due to lack of security following the 2011 mass protests that ousted ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

US ready to evacuate Egypt embassy: Analyst

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

As tensions rise in Egypt over clashes between the supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi, the U.S. is prepared to evacuate its embassy in the capital Cairo, if the situation spirals out of control, Press TV reports.

Violence escalated in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Friday and three people, including a young American journalist, were killed.

“The death of an American is an indication that the situation in Egypt is increasingly getting out of control,” said Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon official, in an interview on Saturday.

“ [The fact that] U.S. Marines are on standby and ships are in the Red Sea would indicate that they are preparing more to evacuate the embassy in the event of total unrest and the inability of the Egyptian government to protect the embassy and the American personnel there,” he added.

Meanwhile, the United States is deploying about 400 troops to Egypt. The troops have been training for months at Fort Hood, Texas.

“I doubt that the U.S. has any further designs other than to use the Marines to protect the evacuation of U.S. personnel,” Maloof noted.

The U.S. State Department has warned Americans to put off unnecessary trips to Egypt and has allowed some diplomatic staff to leave the North African country.

President Barack Obama said in South Africa on Saturday that U.S.’s “immediate concern” was with protecting its embassy and consulates, and their staff.

An “unprecedented exodus” has been reported from Egypt. Officials say that all flights leaving for Europe, the U.S. and the Gulf are fully booked.

Egypt’s opposition groups have rejected Morsi’s recent invitation for national reconciliation and called for demonstrations on Sunday, the first anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration.

Six people, including a former MP from Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, have been killed in the renewed violence in Egypt this week.

1 dead, 2 injured in clashes at Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp

Source : Xinhua

BEIRUT, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Fierce clashes erupted in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon around midnight on Saturday, leaving one killed and two others injured.

The clashes between the Bilal Badr Islamist Salafist group and Fatah movement took place at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

The victim was identified as Moawiya Mathloum, while the injured included a woman called Mirna Shahatha and another man, state-run National News Agency reported.

The conflict continued until the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp has been the scene of recurring violence as Islamist and secular Palestinian factions vie for power within the area. According to long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the 12 refugee camps on its soil but leaves security to the Palestinians themselves.

So far, 400,000 Palestinian refugees are living in the 12 camps.

Clashes as Israel detains 2 al-Aqsa brigade members in Jenin

Source : Maan News Agency

JENIN (Ma'an) -- Clashes broke out Monday morning in the Jenin refugee camp as Israeli forces detained two members of the Fatah- affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, locals said.

Locals said the fighting continued for two hours after Israeli forces raided the al-Jabaryat area of the camp at 4 a.m., detaining Raed Amin Dababa and Mohammad al-Amer.

A large military convoy was seen in the camp and two helicopters were overheard in the area, they added.

The two detainees are exempt from arrest by Israel under a deal with the Palestinian Authority signed in 2007, allowing Palestinian fighters who renounced violence against Israel and gave up arms immunity from detention.

Clashes also broke out after Israeli forces deployed near the local Martyrs' Cemetery. Locals threw stones and glass bottles at soldiers, who responded with live bullets and tear gas, locals said, reporting no injuries.

The camp residents said the sound of clashes reminded them of the second Intifada, when the camp was held under siege for 11 days during Operation Defensive Shield in which over 50 Palestinians were killed.

In a recent interview with Ma'an, commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Zakariya Zubeidi said Israeli forces were returning to the camp and targeting activists of the brigade who have full immunity from detention.

"I call on all the members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to be careful, and consider themselves [as being] chased by the Israeli authorities," he said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the spokeswoman said two Palestinians were detained in two Jenin villages for 'illegal activity.'

The spokeswoman also confirmed the detention of 22-year-old Ahmad Fawzi Shahada from the Oref village in Nablus. Locals said he was taken to the Huwara military camp.

North Sinai’s police chief fired after Saturday’s attack

Source : Alarabiya

Aug. 5 attack - the deadliest in Sinai since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel - prompted the government to send in hundreds of troops backed by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters in a joint operation with police to raid militant hideouts. (Al Arabiya)

North Sinai police chief was sacked on Sunday after three policemen were killed by gunmen yesterday in the northern city of al-Arish.

The dismissal followed a meeting between the interior and defense minsters with the police protesters, who sieged the Security Directorate building late Saturday in response to the accident.

The minister of interior accepted the policemen’s calls of assigning General Samih Bashadi as North Sinai’s new police chief, replacing Major General Ahmad Bakr, according to an Egyptian news website.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s defense minister arrived in Sinai Sunday morning to review the security measures in the peninsula.

Both minsters met with Sinai’s police and military members, along with the peninsula’s tribal leaders, to convince police protesters to resume their job and have listed to their complains, the website reported.

On Saturday, a number of Egyptian policemen protested in front of North Sinai's Arish Security Directorate after gunmen attacked a police patrol and shot three officers earlier on the day.

The protesters later blocked the Arish-Rafah road as well as other critical roads in the peninsula, according to Egypt Independent.

Protesters said they have been left “without protection to face militants’ attacks,” reported the newspaper.

The demonstrating policemen left their locations and sieged the Security Directorate building.

The policemen blamed the country’s ministry of interior for not combating armed gangs in the peninsula, saying they are not allowed to take any action against gunmen without direct instructions from the ministry.

A group of revolutionary youth gathered in front the North Sinai governorate late on Saturday to support the police protest. The group called for firing the current governor and dismissing the minister of interior.

Militants suspected in Sinai’s Saturday attacks

A security source said on Saturday that the three policemen were probably attacked by militants who, Egyptian forces have been hunting since the ambush killing of 16 border guards on Aug. 5, the biggest security crackdown Sinai has seen in decades.

“Armed men who might belong to a jihadist group attacked a police vehicle and fired on its passengers before fleeing,” he told AFP.

Two policemen died at the scene of the attack on the suburbs of al-Arish, the administrative center of North Sinai, while one of the other two injured died at the hospital later after the attack, medical and security sources said.

The Aug. 5 attack - the deadliest in Sinai since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel - prompted the government to send in hundreds of troops backed by tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters in a joint operation with police to raid militant hideouts, arrest suspects and seize weapons.

Efforts to impose central authority in the lawless desert region are complicated by the indigenous Bedouin population's ingrained hostility to the government in Cairo.

Six Muslim rebels killed in clash in S. Philippines

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