The Armed Forces are devising a long-term plan to permanently hand security over to the police in North Sinai and withdraw 20 tanks from the peninsula, a security source said on Monday.
Fighting terrorism and thuggery is the responsibility of the police, and the terrain in Sinai makes it difficult for tanks and armored vehicles to maneuver, therefore making army operations difficult, the source claimed.
The Armed Forces have been carrying out Operation Eagle to root out militant strongholds in the region following a spate of deadly attacks on Sinai border crossings and checkpoints in August.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
