Militants attack Sinai security post

Militant jihadists attacked an Egyptian security outpost in the Sinai peninsula Monday evening, security sources and witnesses have informed Arabstoday. The post near Al-Arish was attacked with light and heavy machine guns, hours before the start of a new extended security operation, in the desert of Sheikh Zuwaid as part of an Egyptian military campaign, Operation "Nisr" (Eagle) to cleanse the area of militants. Sources said: "Militants on board SUV trucks fired at the checkpoint in Risah located on the international Arish-Rafah road, while security officers replied to the fire". The militants then targeted the barrier on the International South Road and mountainous areas surrounding it. Egyptian troops replied forcefully against them, causing them to flee. The attack came hours after a visit by Egypt's new Defence Minister General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. "This ambush was the 31st instance of militants opening fire on security forces since the Egyptian revolution [that ousted president Hosni Mubarak]," said the source. In related news, security forces on Monday arrested 52 wanted criminals during a joint security operation of the army and the police. Egypt began an extensive military campaign in the volatile peninsula, with shares a border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, after an attack o border outpost near the Rafah border crossing killed 16 Egyptian soldiers earlier this month.