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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| 'Fresh clashes' in Egypt's Sinai region | 'Fresh clashes' in Egypt's Sinai region |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Fresh fighting has broken out between gunmen and police in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, according to state TV. | Fresh fighting has broken out between gunmen and police in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, according to state TV. |
| The clashes near a police station in the town of al-Arish come a day after the Egyptian military launched an offensive against suspected Islamist militants in the region. | |
| The military action followed the killing of 16 border guards on Sunday. | |
| The Egyptian president sacked the country's intelligence chief and the province's governor on Wednesday. | The Egyptian president sacked the country's intelligence chief and the province's governor on Wednesday. |
| Nile News TV said on Thursday that "clashes resumed between armed men and police forces in front of police station number two in al-Arish". | Nile News TV said on Thursday that "clashes resumed between armed men and police forces in front of police station number two in al-Arish". |
| There are no reports as yet of casualties. | There are no reports as yet of casualties. |
| The violence began on Sunday, when militants carried out the deadliest and most brazen attack against Egyptian troops in the Sinai region for decades. | The violence began on Sunday, when militants carried out the deadliest and most brazen attack against Egyptian troops in the Sinai region for decades. |
| Further attacks on checkpoints in al-Arish on Wednesday left a number of people wounded. | Further attacks on checkpoints in al-Arish on Wednesday left a number of people wounded. |
| The military offensive was then launched hours later. | The military offensive was then launched hours later. |
| According to military officials, 20 people were killed in the village of Touma, while the Sheikh Zuwaid area to the west was also hit. | According to military officials, 20 people were killed in the village of Touma, while the Sheikh Zuwaid area to the west was also hit. |
| The offensive continued on Thursday, according to state news agency Mena, with a focus on the al-Arish, Sheikh Zuwaid and Rafah areas. | The offensive continued on Thursday, according to state news agency Mena, with a focus on the al-Arish, Sheikh Zuwaid and Rafah areas. |
| It follows criticism of President Mohammed Mursi for not taking decisive action. | |
| Egypt's military presence in Sinai is limited and requires Israeli approval under the terms of the 1979 peace treaty which returned Sinai to Egyptian control. | |
| Analysts say that the security situation in the area has deteriorated following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year, and that Islamist extremists appear to have gained a foothold. | |
| The Egyptian army has begun sealing off and destroying tunnels linking Egypt to the Gaza Strip, Mena says. | |
| There are more than 1,200 illegal tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border that are used for smuggling people and goods, Mena reports. | |
| The militants who launched Sunday's attacks are believed to have used them as an escape route. |