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Egypt beefs up troops in Sinai to quell Islamists - Yahoo! News
Egypt massed troops and carried out arrests on Friday to quell Islamist militants in Sinai as President Mohamed Morsi visited an outpost where militants killed 16 soldiers, prompting the unprecedented crackdown.
Egypt also temporarily reopened the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip, which was closed after Sunday's ambush on the border guard outpost, to allow stranded Palestinians back into Gaza.
The government and the military appeared determined to restore their grip on the lawless peninsula, but residents say their claims to have already killed 20 militants and captured six "terrorists" were mere propaganda.
State news agency MENA said six "terrorist elements" were arrested during patrols in the North Sinai province and a security source branded them as Islamist hardliners suspected of belong to a jihadist group.
But residents of the town of Sheikh Zuayyed said nine people, including two elderly men, were arrested in the morning from their homes, with all insisting the men were devout Muslims without links to Islamist extremists.
Egypt massed troops and carried out arrests on Friday to quell Islamist militants in Sinai as President Mohamed Morsi visited an outpost where militants killed 16 soldiers, prompting the unprecedented crackdown.
Egypt also temporarily reopened the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip, which was closed after Sunday's ambush on the border guard outpost, to allow stranded Palestinians back into Gaza.
The government and the military appeared determined to restore their grip on the lawless peninsula, but residents say their claims to have already killed 20 militants and captured six "terrorists" were mere propaganda.
State news agency MENA said six "terrorist elements" were arrested during patrols in the North Sinai province and a security source branded them as Islamist hardliners suspected of belong to a jihadist group.
But residents of the town of Sheikh Zuayyed said nine people, including two elderly men, were arrested in the morning from their homes, with all insisting the men were devout Muslims without links to Islamist extremists.