Egypt is preparing to set up a buffer zone of between 1.5 and 3 kilometers with the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian daily reported Saturday, following a deadly attack in Sinai on Friday that left over 30 Egyptian soldiers dead.
Forces were expected to start clearing the zone of structures and vegetation in the coming days, Al-Youm al-Sabaa reported.
Army patrols were also set to be increased along the coast from El-Arish, in the northern Sinai peninsula, to the Egyptian border town of Rafah, in an effort to thwart the maritime smuggling of supplies to terrorists.
Photo - File -Egyptian Army personnel supervise the destruction of tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip (photo credit: AP/AP Television)