CAIRO — Deploying its air force for the first time in nearly 40 years, the Egyptian military launched an air offensive in the unruly Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, three days after Islamists killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in an attack that threatened both the Egyptian-Israeli border and the political standing of Egypt’s new president.
Hours after the air force reportedly struck Islamic extremists near the border with Israel, the Egyptian government announced that three high-ranking officials had been dismissed for their handling of the Sunday attack, the deadliest against Egyptian soldiers since the 1979 Camp David peace agreement with Israel.
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said that he had forced his director of general intelligence services, Murad Muwafi, into retirement and dismissed the governor of North Sinai, Abdel-Wahab Mabrouk, in an apparent bid to assert his authority over the increasingly volatile situation. Since Morsi has no say constitutionally over military matters, the head of the military council that shares power with Morsi, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, fired Hamdy Badeen, the head of Egypt’s military police.
The day’s events suggested the Egyptian military was taking the attack and the threat of domestic extremists seriously after a series of skirmishes over the last year. The air force last launched attacks over the Sinai during the 1973 war with Israel.
Morsi also sought to reassert his role as president with the firings after a tepid response to the attacks. Morsi did not attend the soldiers’ funerals
Since taking office in June, Morsi has stressed domestic issues over international affairs. He’s vowed to abide by the 1979 peace agreement with Israel and has left the defense and finance ministries in the hands of holdovers from the administration of deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
But the attacks exposed the sharp divide between Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, where he built his political career. The Brotherhood blamed Israelis for the attacks and demanded a re-examination of the 1979 peace treaty, while Morsi sought to strike a more moderate tone.
