Egypt launches Sinai air raids

Cairo, 08 Aug – (ANA) - Egyptian military helicopters have fired missiles on suspected Islamist militants in Egypt's northern Sinai peninsula, security officials say. Twenty people were reported killed in Touma village, while the Sheikh Zuwaid area to the west was also hit. The strikes came after security checkpoints were allegedly attacked by gunmen in the town of al-Arish, leaving a number of people injured. On Sunday, militants killed 16 Egyptian border guards in the area. After that attack - the deadliest and most brazen against Egyptian troops in this border region for decades - Israeli forces said they killed some of the militants who broke through into Israel. There has been a heavy military build-up around al-Arish, correspondents report, and Egypt's Rafah border crossing to Gaza has been indefinitely closed as security forces hunt the remaining attackers. Egypt is also reported to have begun sealing off the illicit smuggling tunnels into Gaza - reportedly sending prices of key goods soaring in Gaza. (ANA)

FA/ANA/08 August 2012----------