Egyptian helicopter downed by surface-to-air missile
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2014-03-18
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Originally published on January 28, 2014
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In a worrisome new development in Egypt's volatile Sinai Peninsula, officials say a military helicopter has — for the first time — been brought down by militants firing surface-to-air missiles.
Egypt is already struggling with a moribund economy and political insecurity, but Saturday's surface-air-missile attack, shown on a YouTube video released by a terror-linked group, demonstrates that a potentially new and deadly threat is brewing in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Although initially tight-lipped, Egypt has now confirmed that the Egyptian military helicopter was shot down over the Sinai Peninsula on Jan. 25, with what is believed to be a Russian-made Strela-2, which is a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile that's been in production since Soviet times.
Egypt says all five aboard the helicopter were killed after the shoulder-fired man-portable surface-to-air brought down the craft on Saturday.
The use of these Russian-made Strela-2 missiles, which are light, portable and can be fired by a single individual, marks a dramatic escalation in Egypt's bid to fight terror-linked groups in the region.
The missiles likely came to Egypt after the 2011 fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, when Libyan arms stockpiles were raided and some advanced weaponry — along with caches conventional guns and other munitions, fell into the arsenals of armed groups across North Africa.
The missiles pose a threat not only to the Egyptian military, but also to concern for commercial jetliners. One Dutch airline has already suspended flights to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort over concerns.
Egypt relies on attack helicopters to reign in Sinai's militants, but the missile attack could force Egypt to switch to bombing with high-flying jets, causing greater collateral damage.
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In a worrisome new development in Egypt's volatile Sinai Peninsula, officials say a military helicopter has — for the first time — been brought down by militants firing surface-to-air missiles.
Egypt is already struggling with a moribund economy and political insecurity, but Saturday's surface-air-missile attack, shown on a YouTube video released by a terror-linked group, demonstrates that a potentially new and deadly threat is brewing in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Although initially tight-lipped, Egypt has now confirmed that the Egyptian military helicopter was shot down over the Sinai Peninsula on Jan. 25, with what is believed to be a Russian-made Strela-2, which is a shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile that's been in production since Soviet times.
Egypt says all five aboard the helicopter were killed after the shoulder-fired man-portable surface-to-air brought down the craft on Saturday.
The use of these Russian-made Strela-2 missiles, which are light, portable and can be fired by a single individual, marks a dramatic escalation in Egypt's bid to fight terror-linked groups in the region.
The missiles likely came to Egypt after the 2011 fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, when Libyan arms stockpiles were raided and some advanced weaponry — along with caches conventional guns and other munitions, fell into the arsenals of armed groups across North Africa.
The missiles pose a threat not only to the Egyptian military, but also to concern for commercial jetliners. One Dutch airline has already suspended flights to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort over concerns.
Egypt relies on attack helicopters to reign in Sinai's militants, but the missile attack could force Egypt to switch to bombing with high-flying jets, causing greater collateral damage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more!
Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS
Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/
Stay connected with us here:
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