Egypt arrests three after gun attack on ship in Suez Canal : source

[KingsOfTheDay]

Egypt arrests three after gun attack on ship in Suez Canal : source

REUTERS | 01 September, 2013 13:33

The mouth of the Suez Canal. File photo. Image by: Ankur P (Flickr)

Egypt has arrested three people who opened fire with machine guns on a ship passing through the Suez Canal, an army source said on Sunday, playing down what the waterway's chief described as a terrorist attack.

During Saturday's unsuccessful attack, the Panamanian-registered container ship COSCO ASIA came under fire in a northern section of the canal, a major global trade artery which is secured by the Egyptian armed forces.

"There was an attempt to disrupt security in an area called el-Qantara as they fired at a ship in an attempt to halt (traffic on) the waterway," said the army source.

"Three were arrested and they have been dealt with ... This attack could not have harmed the ships," the source said, without giving any details except that an investigation was underway.

On Saturday, the head of the Suez Canal, Mohab Memish, said a terrorist had carried out the operation, suggesting Islamist militants could have been behind it. Suez Canal Authority sources said a rocket-propelled grenade had been used in the attack.

The sources said that even if a grenade had struck the ship, it would have had a limited impact. The aim, they said, was to create a media frenzy and hurt Egypt's image.

Asked if the military suspected the attack was part of a broader campaign to disrupt the movement of ships, the army source said. "I don't think so because the Suez Canal is secured."

Any major attack on the Suez Canal would hammer Egypt's economy, which depends heavily on revenue from the 192-km (120 mile) waterway, the quickest sea route between Asia and Europe.

Egypt has faced a rising number of militant attacks on security forces in the nearby lawless North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, ousted the country's first elected Islamist President, Mohamed Mursi, on July 3.

Growing insecurity in Sinai worries the United States because the area lies next to Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, as well as the Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority has received threats from unidentified groups which said they would target the waterway, security sources said. At one point the military blocked a bridge over the canal as a precautionary measure because of threats.

On July 30 the Egyptian army investigated reports of an explosion heard near the Suez Canal but found no evidence of a blast after scanning the area.

 

[KingsOfTheDay]

Suez Canal Authority says attack attempted on container ship

CAIRO | Sat Aug 31, 2013 5:41pm EDT

(Reuters) - A "terrorist" staged an unsuccessful attack on a container ship passing through the Suez Canal on Saturday, in an attempt to disrupt the flow of ships through the waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Memish said.

The Suez Canal is a key global shipping line which is secured by the armed forces.

"One of the terrorist elements has carried out a failed attempt to affect the movement of ships in the Suez Canal by targeting one of the passing ships, Cosco Asia," Memish said in a statement about the Panama-flagged ship.

"The attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried. The situation was dealt with strictly by the armed forces," he said, adding that the traffic of ships is moving normally.

The statement did not specify what kind of attack it was but shipping sources told Reuters they heard the sound of two explosions as the ship passed through the waterway.

Egypt has faced a string of militant attacks in the lawless North Sinai region after the army, prompted by mass protests, overthrew the country's first elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

More than 1,000 people, including 100 security officers, have died in protests demanding the reinstatement of Mursi. The government launched a crackdown on violence and militancy, arresting many leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Mursi supporters over accusations of inciting violence.

It was not immediately clear whether the attempted attack was related to the ousting of Mursi. U.S. warship the San Antonio passed through the waterway on Thursday to join other ships in the Mediterranean that could be used in any strike against Syria after a suspected chemical weapons attack.

The armed forces have issued an order to strengthen their security measures along the Suez waterway, Memish said.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Alison Williams)