Egyptian military helicopter 'gunned down' in north Sinai, 5 dead

[al-Hasani]

@Frogman

7abibi what kind of MANPAD did those terrorists/militants down the Egyptian helo with?

I saw the Egyptian news and they talked about a possible Igla MANPAD being used.

From where do they get such sophisticated missile systems? Libya? The 9K38 Igla is Soviet/Russian made so it would point to Libya being the source as you told.

I mean how come can weapons be smuggled all the way from the western borders near Libya to the other end of Egypt (Sinai)?

 

[Frogman]

7abibi what kind of MANPAD did those terrorists/militants down the Egyptian helo with?

I saw the Egyptian news and they talked about a possible Igla MANPAD being used.

From where do they get such sophisticated missile systems? Libya? The 9K38 Igla is Soviet/Russian made so it would point to Libya being the source as you told.

SA-7/9K32 Strela-2 from Gaddaifi's stockpiles.

I mean how come can weapons be smuggled all the way from the western borders near Libya to the other end of Egypt (Sinai)?

After the 2011 revolution all the security forces retreated from the streets (they haven't really made a full return yet) allowing weapon smugglers breathing space. It's not as hard as you think. BTW this weapon has been used before in the Sinai but against an Apache helicopter, it was able to evade the missile and then sent its operator either a hellfire/hydra missile or 30mm rounds to the face. The perpetrators of the most recent attack shared the same fate as their brethren.

 

[al-Hasani]

@Frogman

Thanks for that explanation. As I suspected. Let us hope that Libya settles down. They are having quite a big economical growth and in my opinion it is a question of time before they find a long lasting political solution to the semi-unrest in the country. The country has a lot of potential and could easily be the most wealthy African state due to the natural resources if just peace prevails.

I happen to know a few Libyan brothers and they are very good people.