Jihadist Salafi group warns Egyptian army with attack threat aimed at the heart of Cairo

A jihadist group in the Sinai peninsula threatened the Egyptian army that it would carry out mass suicide bombings in the heart of Cairo in response to the Egyptian military’s operation against Islamic organizations in the Sinai.

"We have never raised our weapons against the Egyptian army," the Salafi Jihadi, said in a statement. "So stop the bloodshed or else you will be dragging us into a battle that is not ours," the group said, addressing the Egyptian army

“No one will condemn the people of Sinai if they react with a car bomb in the heart of Cairo," the group added.

On Aug. 5, according to Egyptian security, 35 gunmen in Bedouin clothing closely linked to the Salafist movement opened fire on an Egyptian checkpoint near Egypt’s border with Israel and Gaza Strip, killing 16, before crossing into Israel in an armoured vehicle and an explosives-laden pickup truck.

Israel initially said its troops killed five gunmen, with the armoured vehicle destroyed by helicopter fire

Following the attack, the Egyptian army launched a major operation named as "Eagle operation" against militants in the Sinai.

"Elements from the armed forces and interior ministry supported by the air force began a plan to restore security by pursuing and targeting armed terrorist elements in Sinai, and it has accomplished this task with complete success," security officials said.

Meanwhile, two powerful explosions were heard in the resort town of Eilat. The Israeli army began combing the area in search of remains of Grad missiles, army spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said last night.

Searches continued Thursday for the remnants of the rockets, but have yet to find any.

On the other hand, Israel national news website reported that an unknown organization calling itself the "Salafi Sinai Front" issued a statement on Thursday morning in which it claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the city of Eilat on Wednesday evening.The information has not been confirmed by other sources.

It's worth mentioning that Eilat has been the target of missile attacks from Sinai in the recent past. An Islamist group in the Sinai had previously claimed responsibility for numerous bombing attacks against a pipeline carrying gas to Israel via the Sinai, as well as rocket attacks against Israel, particularly against town of Eilat.

In related news, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that Egypt's military has recently deployed military forces into specific areas in the Sinai Peninsula without a permission from Israeli military and intelligence, which violates the peace agreement signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

According to the paper, Israel has decided recently not to respond to the unilateral Egyptian moves so as to avoid confrontations between the two sides.

Sources:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/us-egypt-sinai-violence-idUSBRE87F02O20120816

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4269199,00.html