Egypt: Air force destroys vehicles smuggling weapons across border from Libya May 8

Event

On Monday, April 8, the Egyptian air force announced that it had carried out airstrikes in the past 48 hours targeting and destroying 15 four-wheel-drive vehicles attempting to smuggle weapons into Egypt from Libya. The military has not stated who was driving the vehicles nor now many casualties resulted from the air strikes.

Meanwhile, according to the interior ministry, the airstrikes coincided with operations by security forces in the south during which eight members of the Muslim Brotherhood were killed in a shootout.

Context

The militant threat remains high across Egypt. While the worst violence has been largely concentrated in the Sinai region, there has been an increase in the number of attacks elsewhere in the country as well, usually targeting policemen and soldiers, security checkpoints, or government buildings. A nationwide state of emergency was declared on April 10 following two suicide bomb attacks that targeted two Coptic Christian Churches in Tanta and Alexandria, later claimed by Islamic State (IS) to have been carried out by one of its local affiliates.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated as a terrorist group in Egypt, and Islamist extremists since his overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.

Advice

Due to the prevailing threat of terrorism, individuals throughout Egypt should report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities and always be on guard when visiting sites deemed particularly vulnerable to an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). All travel to northern Sinai is advised against; the authorities maintain a media blackout and special security zones in the region due to the ongoing terrorist campaign of Sinai Province.