Following a “failed terrorist attack” on a container ship in the Suez Canal on Saturday, the Egyptian army has ordered heightened security measures at the strategic sea route.
The head of the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Saturday that a “terrorist” had launched the attack against a Panamanian-flagged ship, adding that "the attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried," AFP news agency reported.
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.
The Suez Canal dealt with a normal volume of 45 ships on Saturday with another 55 expected to pass through on Sunday, according to AFP.
The army recently launched a major operation in the North Sinai peninsula, around the canal, where several Islamist extremist groups operate.
On Saturday, an al-Qaeda front group based in Iraq and Syria called on Egyptians to take up arms against their country’s military.
