VARIOUS: Two gunmen, allegedly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, claim responsibility for a cross-border attack in the Sinai desert yesterday

Record ID: 397440

  • Title: VARIOUS: Two gunmen, allegedly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, claim responsibility for a cross-border attack in the Sinai desert yesterday
  • Date: 20th June 2012
  • Summary: KADESH BARNEA, NEAR ISRAEL-EGYPTIAN BORDER (JUNE 18, 2012) (REUTERS) ISRAELI SOLDIERS, POLICE BLOCKING ROAD LEADING TO EGYPTIAN-ISRAEL BORDER WHERE AN ISRAELI CIVILIAN AND TWO GUNMEN WERE KILLED ISRAELI SOLDIER POLICE CAR BLOCKING ROAD FEMALE SOLDIERS
  • Embargoed: 5th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FDPKRKWU94K07YNZL9LKQ3IM
  • Story Text: In a video recording obtained by Reuters in Gaza, a group of masked men claimed responsibility for an attack in the Sinai desert, on behalf of what they said was a newly formed Islamic movement, "The Shura Council of Mujahideen in the Holy Land".
    On Monday (June 18), militants crossed into Israel from Egypt's Sinai desert fired on Israelis building a barrier on that frontier, killing one worker, before soldiers shot dead two of the attackers.
    The masked men used Islamic slogans in pledging to liberate the holy land from what they termed Jewish control.
    A second video showed two men, one of whom said they were about to embark on a mission to attack "the Zionist forces on the border of Egypt and occupied Palestine", an apparent reference to Monday's incident on the Sinai frontier.
    The first man said he was an Egyptian named Abu Salah al-Masri.
    "I am the alive martyr Abu Salah Al-Masri from Matrouh district, from the land of Kinana (Egypt)," he said.
    The other said he came from Saudi Arabia and gave his name as Abu Huthiyfa al-Rathali.
    "I am the alive martyr Abu Huthiyfa Al-Rathali from Prophet Muhammad's island (Saudia Arabia). With the trust of God, we are go now to implement martyrdom operation against the forces of the Jewish enemy on the border between Egypt and occupied Palestine (Israel). Today Monday, 28 Rajab 1433 (Islamic calendar) 18 June 2012," said al-Rathali.
    Reuters could not independently validate the tape.
    The Sinai attack, launched soon after the Muslim Brotherhood declared victory in Egypt's presidential election, raised Israeli concerns about lawlessness in the area since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak last year.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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