BBC Online :
Gunmen have attacked an Egyptian navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea, state media say, leaving five servicemen injured and eight more missing at sea.
The vessel reportedly caught fire in the assault, some 70km (45 miles) off the northern port of Damietta.
Four boats were used in the assault by “terrorists” and 32 attackers were arrested, the military said.
The Egyptian navy frequently intercepts migrant smugglers and drug traffickers off its Mediterranean coast.
The army is also facing an Islamist insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where jihadists have stepped up attacks against police and soldiers since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year.
However, direct attacks on Egyptian naval vessels are unusual.
The group behind the latest attack has not yet been identified.
According to Reuters, four gunmen were killed after they opened fire at the navy
vessel from a fishing boat on Wednesday. Local media reported that the Egyptian air force had been deployed to deal with the attackers. Those captured were being interrogated, the military said.
The attack came after a car bomb was found outside a fast-food restaurant in the coastal town of El-Arish, in the Sinai Peninsula, late on Tuesday.
Gunmen have attacked an Egyptian navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea, state media say, leaving five servicemen injured and eight more missing at sea.
The vessel reportedly caught fire in the assault, some 70km (45 miles) off the northern port of Damietta.
Four boats were used in the assault by “terrorists” and 32 attackers were arrested, the military said.
The Egyptian navy frequently intercepts migrant smugglers and drug traffickers off its Mediterranean coast.
The army is also facing an Islamist insurgency in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where jihadists have stepped up attacks against police and soldiers since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year.
However, direct attacks on Egyptian naval vessels are unusual.
The group behind the latest attack has not yet been identified.
According to Reuters, four gunmen were killed after they opened fire at the navy
vessel from a fishing boat on Wednesday. Local media reported that the Egyptian air force had been deployed to deal with the attackers. Those captured were being interrogated, the military said.
The attack came after a car bomb was found outside a fast-food restaurant in the coastal town of El-Arish, in the Sinai Peninsula, late on Tuesday.
