CAIRO: Less than two days after the multinational peacekeeping force headquarters in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula saw an attack by Molotov cocktails, injuring four Colombian soldiers, Egyptian security forces reported they had clashed with militants in the area. According to sources, the clashes lasted for around two hours and at least 7 people were injured in the fighting. “The fighting broke out after police backed by the military staged dawn raids on a number of homes in Sheik Zuweyid, a desert village about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from northern Sinai's main city of el-Arish,” The Associated Press reported. The Egyptian government has said the attack was by Islamic militants. The Sinai has been under siege since militants attacked an Egyptian border outpost, killing 16 soldiers on August 5. The result has seen the Egyptian military increase their crackdown on the Bedouin population, including using air strikes in their attacks. The Friday attack on the multinational forces was the latest extension of protests and violence as demonstrations escalated on Friday across Egypt and the Islamic world as anger continued to grip Muslims over a film clip that insults Islam and Prophet Mohamed. In Cairo, thousands battled police near the US Embassy – where on Tuesday protesters took down the American flag and replaced it with an Islamic flag. The violence came to an end Saturday morning after police pushed forward and removed all protesters from the area.
