US to deliver 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt

The United States will deliver 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt to prop up its counter-terrorism efforts in the Sinai peninsula, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told his Egyptian counterpart on Saturday.

In a phone call with Egypt’s minister of defence, Hagel discussed regional security issues and the anti-ISIS alliance led by the US to counter the extremist militant group in Iraq and Syria.

According to the spokesman of the US Department of Defence John Kirby, Hagel reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the strength of its bilateral relations with Egypt and hailed Egypt’s role in mediating an end to the Israeli operation in Gaza.

Since the 3 July military coup against president Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian-American relations have witnessed intermittent tensions, especially in October last year when the US administration announced it would suspend part of its annual military assistance to Egypt, including 10 Apache helicopters, pending Egypt’s progress towards democracy.

In April, Washington lifted its ban on Apache helicopters to Egypt with the aim of supporting counter-terrorism operations in Sinai and along Israeli borders.

Since Egypt’s signing of the peace treaty with Israel in 1979, the US has been providing Egypt with annual assistance worth $1.5 billion, including $1.3 billion in military aid.