Two of America’s linchpin allies in the Middle East are bitterly feuding, complicating the Obama administration’s hopes of confronting Sunni Salafists and containing the ambitions of Shiite Iran.
Egypt is accusing Turkey of working with the Islamic State on the Sinai Peninsula, a new low in the already poor relations between the two regional powers.
Washington has finally coaxed Turkey into a greater commitment to take on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, across the border in Syria, while the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi battles a surge of Islamist violence.
WNU Editor: The Egyptian government is convinced that Turkey is supporting Islamic militants in the Sinai ... and the fact that Egyptian security forces have captured/arrested Turkish intelligence officers who are alleged to be linked to these recent attacks .... only adds fuel to this speculation. Either way .... relations are now rock-bottom.
On a side note .... was this the reason why Turkey rushed to make an agreement with Washington in its war against the Islamic State .... to defuse pressure and anger that their officers were captured in Sinai (as some Israelis are now saying)? One has to wonder.
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