Aircraft missile launcher discovered near Cairo airport

An Egyptian man claims to have found an anti-aircraft missile launcher left in a heap of rubbish next to Cairo’s main international airport.

The man’s claim and whether or not the weapon is real have not been verified but the situation highlights Egypt’s growing security concerns after two passengers planes were downed over the last two years.

The discovery of the weapon by Ibrahim Yousry comes as Daesh released a video threatening new attacks against Egypt’s Christian population, describing them as the “favourite prey” of jihadists. The video shows a suicide bomber who blew up a church last year killing 30 people and threatens similar attacks against the Christian minority.

The find is likely to further delay flights from the UK to Sharm El-Sheikh as the government monitors airport security across Egypt. Flights to the popular resort were suspended when a Russian jet was blown up by a Daesh affiliate group in 2015, killing all of the 224 on board.

Yousry claims he found an SA-7 missile launcher on a roadside around a mile from Cairo International Airport while travelling to work. He then posted a picture on Facebook on 18 February and wrote that he was initially afraid to report the launcher to police in case authorities thought it was his.

“The airport is not far away and it could cause disasters if it was placed here for a reason,” he wrote on Facebook. “The airplanes here are an easy target because they fly at very low altitude and this is the best position for this weapon to be used.”

He later removed his Facebook post replacing it with a message suggesting he was concerned about angering Egypt’s authoritarian government.

“Fishing in troubled waters is not my style,” he explained on his page.

It is unknown how the weapon ended up near the airport but it is thought the weapon may have been planted by Daesh’s Egyptian affiliate, Wilayat Sinai, who has used similar weapons to down aircrafts previously.