Egypt 'declares emergency after Suez militant threat'
Published today (updated) 31/08/2012 12:36
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=515985

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt has declared a state of emergency along the
Suez canal after receiving information about an imminent militant attack,
Egyptian military officials said Friday.

Egyptian intelligence believes Jihadi groups in Egypt's Sinai peninsula met
with similar brigades in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, military sources said.
They agreed to attack Egyptian soldiers at military bases along the Suez
canal, they added.

Egyptian forces have been deployed in force amid the state of alert, the
officials said.

Meanwhile, high-level security officials in Sinai expressed disappointment
in what they called the failure of a military campaign against Jihadi
militants in the Egyptian territory.

Egyptian forces in the Sinai began withdrawing some deployments on Thursday,
security sources said, after a deal was reportedly struck with jihadi groups
to cease hostilities.

Egypt's Middle East News Agency insisted 'Operation Eagle' -- launched early
August after a deadly attack on Egyptian border guards -- was ongoing.

Egyptian security experts and political figures told Ma'an the drawdown of
forces was "caving in to Jihadi groups' threats and Israeli and US pressure
to limit military presence (in the border Sinai region)."

Security officials said they had submitted a report to Egypt's military
leadership showing that around 500 jihadi militants are hiding in seven
locations in the central Sinai desert, and complained it had not been
followed-up.