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Ansar Bait al-Maqdis militants.
The Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM), also known as Champions of Jerusalem, an Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militant group based in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, may have used a Chinese FN-6 surface-to-air missile to shoot down a military helicopter on Jan. 25, according to China's state-run Global Times.
The military helicopter was shot down near the town of Sheikh Zuweyid in northern Sinai, with the New York Times stating that five Egyptian soldiers were killed during the incident.
The BBC reported that the shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles used by the insurgents are Russian-built SA-7s, while a video clip released on the official website of ABM indicates that the fired missile looked more like a FN-6.
The BBC said that the Egyptian government currently relies heavily on the American-built AH-64 Apache helicopter and various Russian helicopters in its counter-insurgency operation against militant groups. The government may begin to deploy jet fighters against such organizations however as the Apache helicopter may no longer be useful against insurgents with Russian or Chinese surface-to-air missiles.
If jet fighters were to be used in anti-insurgency operations, the BBC said that collateral damage may increase. The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that the ABM has recently carried out a series of terrorist attacks against Egypt's police and military forces.
In a statement released after the incident, the militant group said that they shot down the helicopter in an area clear of residents to preserve the lives of Muslims and to carry out their Jihad against infidels.
Egypt militants may have used Chinese missile to shoot down helicopter|Politics|News|WantChinaTimes.com