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The Russian Defense Ministry has sent fighters of the Russian Special Operations Forces to Egypt.

The Egyptian Special Forces and law-enforcement agencies’ staff will be trained in methods of combating terrorism by Russian military, the Izvestiya newspaper reported, citing several sources in the Russian military-diplomatic circles. According to experts, Cairo needs soldiers, trained by Russian military specialists, to fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group and the Muslim Brotherhood in the Sinai Peninsula and on the western borders of the country.

The exact number of Russian military experts, sent to Egypt, was not disclosed. According to the newspaper’s sources, Russian instructors would not directly participate in hostilities and counter-terrorism operations.

According to Izvestiya, the Egyptian side has started consultations with Russia on possible training of specialists in the fight against terrorism at the end of the past year. The main reasons for such a move were a terrorist attack on the board of the Russian A321 passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia airline and sharp deterioration of the situation in the Sinai Peninsula, where the Egyptian Security Forces conduct operations against Islamic terrorists.

The Egyptian Defense Ministry was not able to rapidly provide the newspaper with information on plans for the training of Egyptian soldiers by Russian instructors. The Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment the situation.

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