Six killed as Egypt moves against militants in Sinai

The crackdown on militants in northern Sinai continues, with Egyptian security claiming to have killed six after storming their hideout near the border with Israel.
 
Weapons, including mortars and rocket launchers, were found at the scene in the settlement of al-Goura, according to police reports.
 
Troops have poured into the region since the shooting of 16 border guards by suspected jihadists last weekend. Egyptian officials said the gunmen used smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt to carry out the attack.
 
Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi is facing criticism that he is being soft on Islamic extremists because his Muslim Brotherhood party 
is Islamist and Israel is calling for action.
 
Mursi has twice visited northern Sinai since the deaths of the border guards and is vowing to restore stability to the area.
 
The president appointed a new chief of staff on Sunday, after changing his intelligence chief and firing the governor of northern Sinai only days before.
 
Twenty people described as ‘terrorists’ by the Egyptian military were killed during an offensive on Friday, and arrests are still being made.

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