16 Soldiers Killed in Attack on Egypt's Sinai

Gunmen kill 16 Egyptian border guards with Israel in North Sinai before stealing two armored vehicles and entered the territory of Israel, Sunday (08/05/2012). An Egyptian health officials said the gunmen were dressed in traditional Bedouin came to the driving of two vehicles and opened fire on a checkpoint near the Karm Abu Salem crossing the border. Department of Health said 16 soldiers and border guards were killed, while a security official said seven people were wounded. According to news agency MENA, the gunmen was "the jihad" in the Gaza Strip. State television and MENA said Egypt closed the Rafah crossing in the Gaza Strip "until further notice". In fact, it is the only Rafah crossing between Gaza and the outside world that is not controlled by Israel. Speaking after a meeting with military officials, foreign ministers and heads intelijien, Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi vowed to take over the Sinai after the attack. "The authorities will take over completely the territories," Mursi said in a televised statement. He has issued "clear orders" that Egypt must "master the Sinai" after the chaos following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year. Mursi called the attack as an act of "cowardice". "The people responsible for this crime will be hunted down and arrested," he said. "Everyone will see that the Egyptian army and the police can catch the bad guys wherever they are," Mursi said. While in Israel, a military spokesman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, said the attackers hijacked two vehicles of the Egyptian military posts after they opened fire on the guards, then enter the territory of Israel. One of the vehicles exploded by itself, while other vehicles were shot out of the air by the Israeli military. Throughout Sunday night, said Leibovich, the Israeli army to find the perpetrators if there is still alive. He said he did not know the number of people who are in the stolen vehicle. While Israel government radio reported, Israeli helicopter destroyed the vehicle which contains three "terrorists". Leibovich said it was too early to know the umbrella group of the attackers or their motives. However, he said, "one of the assumptions is that they try to kidnap Israeli soldiers." Meanwhile, the MENA news agency said the attackers as "the jihad" of an Islamist group in Gaza. "Elements of jihadists into Gaza through the tunnels with the cooperation of the jihad in the area and Gabal Al-Halal Mahdiya in Egypt," the agency said. They "attacked a border post when the soldiers and officers are breaking the fast", MENA quoted a source. Before the MENA report, Hamas denied accusations that militants from Gaza involved in the attack. "The border between Egypt and Gaza are protected. We've closed the tunnels (which are used for smuggling) to prevent people from fleeing (to Gaza), and we alerted the security forces," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamas. "We reject the accusation that Gaza is involved in this incident and we express our condolences on the killing of Egyptian soldiers," he stated. In a statement, Hamas said, "We condemn this heinous crime, in which Egyptian soldiers were killed and we express our condolences to the families of the victims, the Government of Egypt and the Egyptian people." Witnesses confirmed that the police had closed all the tunnels and send troops to the border.