Just weeks before the Egyptian government is planning a grand opening of its Second Suez Canal in celebration of the country’s new sense of optimism, terrorists launched a well-planned series of actions that seek to harm the government’s plans. Earlier in the week, the Prosecutor General, Hesham Barakat, was killed and on Wednesday, Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) launched a series of attacks on army posts.
It is important that President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi takes firm action against the terrorists, but does not allow them to derail his plans to get the Egyptian economy back on track.
Egypt’s armed forces hit back at Daesh sites after the group killed at least 17 soldiers at military checkpoints in northern Sinai, the Egyptian province bordering Israel and Gaza where militants have gained some traction amongst disaffected Bedouin tribes. The army’s counter-attack left more than 100 terrorists dead, in action that included F-16s and Apache helicopters attacking militants in fortified positions on rooftops around police stations in towns like Shaikh Zuwaid and Rafah.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks, which sought to give the impression that it can operate in Egypt to great effect. This is why the army’s swift counter-attack was important, which also removed the Daesh units from their defensive positions that they had set up around several government buildings. Such attacks aim to show that Daesh can destabilise and unnerve the Egyptian forces.
The Egyptians have not been slow to move in and arrest suspects from Daesh if they can find them, as well as from the Muslim Brotherhood or any other political fellow travellers who may have sympathy for such illegal groups and their aims. This strong action has helped stabilise Egypt and given the country a new sense of direction after the chaos of the Mohammad Mursi reign. It is important to nurture this sense of confidence, which allows business to reinvest, jobs to be created and families to plan their futures.
