Posted on 09/01/2013 6:36:47 PM PDT by Innovative
A container ship in the Suez Canal was the target of a failed "terrorist" attack on Saturday aimed at disrupting traffic through the key waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority said.
Admiral Mohab Mamish confirmed that "a terrorist" had launched the attack against a Panamanian-flagged ship, adding in a statement that "the attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried".
The statement gave no details of the nature of the attempt at 1230 GMT Saturday, but sources said they heard loud explosions from the container ship which had been passing through the canal.
At nearly 200 kilometres long, the Suez Canal is owned by Egypt but governed by an international treaty that guarantees free navigation.
It provides a vital link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Blocking the Suez Canal would have major negative impact.
Bump
Why does it sound like some dude smelling of goat love in an inner tube flipped off the boat and then detted his suicide vest several feet away?
That’d be like commuting suicide in front of a gopher to traumatize it.
Ping
Sorry Jet you are already here ahead of me.
“Blocking the Suez Canal would have major negative impact”
That has been a foremost concern of mine since the great and wonderful Arab Spring. Evidently, it looks like the enemies are doing some planning on that very thing.
A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)
Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea
No worries.
I believe I read earlier in the week that Egypt had already threatened closing the Suez.
No. You did not read any such thing.
14% of Egypt’s entire national GDP comes from Suez Canal shipping fees.
Egypt ain’t closing 14% of their economy.
Egypt has **HEAVILY** militarized the Suez Canal Zone in order to prevent anyone else from closing it, too.
Block the suez to the north.
Sink a couple ship in the Mandab strait in the south.
You just captured the USS Nimitz and her entire strike force.
“You just captured the USS Nimitz and her entire strike force.”
Pretty scary — yet, unfortunately it could be done. Terrorists who are willing to die in commission of their attacks are hard to stop.
Even relatively recently, in 2009:
Gaza boat explodes near Israel Navy vessel
http://www.haaretz.com/news/gaza-boat-explodes-near-israel-navy-vessel-1.274045
A booby-trapped fishing boat exploded on Monday near an Israel Navy vessel off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip.
No one was wounded in the blast, which occurred about 300 meters from the Gaza coast, near the border with Israel.
The Palestinian vessel was laden with explosives, but was unmanned.”
Not to mention the USS Cole in 2000...
“The USS Cole bombing was a suicide attack against the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) on 12 October 2000, while it was harbored and being refueled in the Yemen port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured.[1] This event was the deadliest attack against a United States Naval vessel since 1987.
The terrorist organization al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing
Surely you don’t think a couple block ships can close a strait whose main passage is 16 miles wide with depths in the 300m range?
Looks like I quit typing before I finished my thought, lol.
I think Egypt intends to close the canal to MILITARY traffic.
Sorry!
The whole passage isn't that big, and don't call me Shirley.
Looking at a map, it appears the deep water is about 10-12 miles wide at the most narrow point. My comment on block ships still applies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
