The Sinai Peninsula or simply Sinai is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa. Sinai has a land area of about 60,000 km2 (23,000 sq mi) and a population of approximately 1,400,000 people. Administratively, the Sinai Peninsula is divided into two governorates: the South Sinai Governorate and the North Sinai Governorate. Three other governorates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: Suez Governorate on the southern end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia Governorate in the center, and Port Said Governorate in the north.
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, or October War, also known as the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, was a war fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel. The war took place mostly in Sinai and the Golan—occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War—with some fighting in African Egypt and northern Israel. Egypt's initial war objective was to use its military to seize a foothold on the east bank of the Suez Canal and use this to negotiate the return of the rest of Sinai.
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli War, also named the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and Operation Kadesh or Sinai War in Israel, was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalized the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated the United Kingdom and France and strengthened Nasser.
The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, PLO and their allies from 1967 to 1970.
Port Said Governorate is one of the Canal Zone governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Mediterranean Sea at the northern gate of the Suez Canal, making it the second most important harbor in Egypt. Its capital is the city of Port Said, and is the home of the Suez Canal Authority historical administrative building and the Lighthouse of Port Said.
The Great Bitter Lake is a saltwater lake in Egypt, connected to the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea via the Suez Canal. It is connected to the Small Bitter Lake, through which the canal also runs. Before the canal was built (1869), the site was a dry salt valley or basin. References are made to the Great Bitter Lake in the ancient Pyramid Texts. Ships traveling through the Suez Canal use the Great Bitter Lake as a "passing lane", where they can change their position in line or turn around.
The Battle of Tel El Kebir was fought between the Egyptian army led by Ahmed Urabi and the British military near Tell El Kebir. After discontented Egyptian officers under Urabi rebelled in 1882, the United Kingdom reacted to protect its interests in the country, and in particular the Suez Canal.
The phrase East of Suez is used in British military and political discussions in reference to interests beyond the European theatre, and east of the Suez Canal—most notably its military base in Singapore—and may or may not include the Middle East. The phrase was popularized by Rudyard Kipling in his 1890 poem Mandalay. It later became a popular song when a tune was added by Oley Speaks in 1907.
The Raid on the Suez Canal, also known as Actions on the Suez Canal, took place between 26 January and 4 February 1915 after a German-led Ottoman Army force advanced from Southern Palestine to attack the British Empire-protected Suez Canal, before the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I.
The Battle of the Chinese Farm took place during October 15 to October 17, 1973 between the Egyptian Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as part of the Yom Kippur War. It was fought in the Sinai Peninsula, north of the Great Bitter Lake and just east of the Suez Canal, near an Egyptian agricultural research station. The farm was using specialized Japanese-made machinery that had Kanji characters on them, so Israeli military maps labeled the area as 'Chinese Farm'. The battle began when the IDF launched Operation Abiray-Lev, attempting to establish a corridor to the canal and allow bridges to be laid for a crossing. Accordingly, the Israelis attacked Egyptian forces in and around the Chinese Farm.
The Anglo-Egyptian War occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It established firm British influence over Egypt at the expense of the Egyptians, the French and the Ottoman Empire, which retained only nominal authority.
The Battle of the Sinai was one of the most consequential battles of the Yom Kippur war. An Egyptian attacking force that advanced beyond their line of defense at the Bar-Lev Line was repulsed with heavy losses by Israeli forces. This prompted the Israelis to launch Operation Abiray-Lev the next day, penetrating the Egyptian line of defense and crossing the Suez Canal.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, or al-Qaeda in Lebanon, is a Sunni Islamist militant group, and the al-Qaeda's branch in Lebanon. The group, which began operating in 2009, was founded by Saudi Saleh Al-Qaraawi and has local networks in various countries, mainly in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Kata'ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades is an Iraqi Shia paramilitary group that is supported by Iran. It has been active in the Iraqi Civil War and the Syrian Civil War. During the Iraq War, the group fought against American invasion forces.
The Sinai insurgency is an ongoing conflict in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, between Islamist militants and Egyptian security forces, which has included attacks on civilians. The insurgency began after the start of the Egyptian Crisis, which saw the overthrow of longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian revolution of 2011.
Operation Sinai is an ongoing Egyptian military campaign, launched in early August 2012, against Islamic militants within the Sinai Peninsula to crush the Sinai Insurgency. The operation came as a direct response to the 2012 Egyptian-Israeli border attack on 5 August 2012. The operation was initially reported as part of "Operation Nisr", but on 3 September 2012, the Egyptian army issued a statement requesting media sources to use the official name "Operation Sinai."
al-Taliah al-Salafiyah al-Mujahediyah Ansar al-Sharia, better known by the name Ansar al-Sharia (Egypt), is a radical Islamist group that operates in Egypt.
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, or Ansar Al-Quds, was the name of a jihadist extremist militant group based in Egypt.
The Suez Canal Corridor Area Project is a megaproject in Egypt that was launched on 5 August 2014 by president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The project's aim is to increase the role of the Suez Canal region in international trading and to develop the three canal cities: Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said.
