Terrorists are attacking Egypt from the land and sea, and eight navy soldiers are presumed dead, and bombs have exploded in at least two of its embassies and in the Cairo metro system.
Gunmen on four fishing boats staged a rare attack from the Mediterranean Sea on an Egyptian navy ship, leaving eight people missing and presumed dead on the burning vessel. Five others were wounded., and two of the terrorists were killed, and 32 were arrested.
Egyptian media have headlined that the country is under attack and reported that the air force foiled an infiltration by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists, in a raid that killed at least two people.
The Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis terrorist organization, which has been supported by Al Qaeda, posted an audio on YouTube this week stating its allegiance with the ISIS and railing against “Jewish agents and their allies,” meaning Egypt.
The Ansar terrorist group is estimated to have anywhere from several hundred to several thousand well-armed men. It was involved in last month’s twin attacks in the Sinai, where 31 Egyptian soldiers were killed and which Egyptian authorities said was orchestrated with Hamas in Gaza.
Closer ties between the Ansar group and ISIS would mean a major threat to Egyptian tourist sites and civilians instead of the usual government targets that Ansar terrorists strike.
On Tuesday, a car bomb was discovered in the port and resort city El-Arish.
Terror spread to Cairo Thursday morning, when a bomb exploded at a metro statin east of Cairo, wounding 16 passengers and forcing the subway system to shut down.
Egyptian embassies were targeted in the United Arab Emirates and in Libya, but no injuries were reported in the bombing attacks.