Egypt troops sweep Sinai for operation

CAIRO: Egyptian troops and policemen began sweeps of north Sinai yesterday ahead of a possible showdown with heavily armed gunmen who abducted seven security personnel, officials said.
A senior Interior Ministry official told AFP a “campaign has been going on for half an hour,” while a policeman taking part in the operation said that security forces traded fire with gunmen in a village in the restive peninsula. The operations were part of a large security sweep and not a rescue attempt, said the ministry official.
The kidnappers, who abducted the conscripts last week, are heavily armed with SAM anti-aircraft missiles and heavy machine guns, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said.
He said there were no negotiations with the kidnappers, who demand the release of jailed Bedouin militants, but tribal leaders have asked for some time to persuade the gunmen to release the hostages.
“Security forces have not decided on the zero hour to carry out an armed operation to release the (military and police) conscripts until pinpointing their location,” the minister told MENA. “Especially after it has been confirmed that the kidnappers possess SAM 7 missiles and anti-tank rockets,” he said.