Israel sends two warships to patrol Red Sea as Egypt hunts Sinai militants

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Tuesday it had sent two extra warships to patrol the Red Sea but it downplayed reports that they were connected to an Egyptian sweep of the Sinai peninsula for militants.

A military official said the deployment was routine but declined to say what operational duties the ships were performing.

"I can confirm that there are two naval craft in the Red Sea. This is not unusual," the official told Reuters.

Homefront Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said Israeli security forces were on very high alert in the country's south and that Egyptian troops were acting against gunmen in the Sinai.

"There is a very specific alert that an Islamic Jihad organization wants to carry out an attack on the Egyptian border and we are taking this alert very seriously. It should be emphasized that the Egyptians are also acting," he said...

...Israeli warships are regularly stationed at a naval port in the resort city of Eilat at the northern tip of the Red Sea and patrol the area to the south as part of routine procedure to secure its borders.

The two ships were thought to have passed through the Suez Canal on their way to the Red Sea, although the Israeli military declined to confirm this. The only other way to get to the Red Sea would have been around Africa, a weeks-long voyage. more

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