| ABC News | - |
Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a border guard post Saturday in Egypt's western desert near Libya, killing 21 troops, the military said.
Gunmen Attack Egypt Troops, Killing 21 Near Libya
Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a border guard post
Saturday in Egypt's western desert near Libya, killing 21 troops, the
military said.
The attack targeted a checkpoint in the western desert governorate of
Wadi el-Gedid, on the Farafra Oasis Road, more than 500 kilometers (310
miles) from Cairo, according to a statement on the official Facebook
page of Brig. Gen. Mohammed Samir, a military spokesman. Farafra is the
country's western most oasis, near the border with Libya.
Samir said one of the gunmen's rockets struck a cache of weapons at the
checkpoint, sparking an explosion. He said the attack killed 21 troops
and forces later seized two car bombs before they exploded.
He identified the gunmen as "terrorists," but did not elaborate.
Another military official said about 20 gunmen in weapon-mounted
vehicles took the checkpoint by surprise. Ensuing clashes killed three
of the attackers, the official and the state news agency MENA said. A
medic said some of the bodies were burned.
The official and medic spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
MENA said this is the second time this border patrol company has come
under attack from gunmen in the last few months. An earlier attack
killed six troops, the agency said.
Egypt has long, porous borders with Sudan and Libya used by arms
smugglers. Egypt has been flooded with weapons, mostly from Libya,
following the 2011 civil war that toppled longtime dictator Moammar
Gadhafi. Fighters from Libya also have come into Egypt from these
borders, security officials say.
Egypt has vowed to tighten security along its borders.
This is the second brazen attack on troops in recent years during the
holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims fast from dawn to sundown.
In 2012, gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Egypt's border with Gaza and
Israel, killing 16 soldiers. It was one of the highest number of troops
killed in recent years in one attack.
The attack Saturday came less than an hour before sundown.
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