Egypt’s newly appointed Minister of Interior, Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq, held an expanded meeting with all the country’s security leaders on Monday to “review the security strategy in light of regional changes.”
Tawfiq underlined the adoption of a new strategy aimed at deterring terrorists by intensifying preemptive strikes.
He noted that the security services have made great strides in the war against terrorism and have succeeded during the past period in aborting many hostile schemes.
Egypt has been witnessing, for years, sporadic terrorist acts, especially in the province of North Sinai, which has become a terrorist hub since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Since February 9, army and police have been waging a major security operation in northern and central Sinai to purge the region of ISIS militants.
Tawfiq said the country’s police and armed forces were dealing with such threats with a high level of readiness, in an effort to protect the country from terrorism.
“We have come a long way in our war against terrorism, especially during the national operation, in which the ministry’s agencies partnered with the armed forces to combat terrorists in Sinai,” he said, calling for a periodic review of the security strategy to meet national interests in wake of regional changes.
Tawfiq also called for the development of the ministry’s abilities to collect and analyze data and for the integration an information exchange system for state bodies, in order to dismantle the terrorist networks.
