US, Egypt discuss aid package for Sinai security

The United States and Egypt are negotiating a package of assistance to address what administration officials described as a worsening security vacuum in the Sinai Peninsula, the New York Times reported.

According to the report, the Pentagon is discussing a variety of options for sharing intelligence which include intercepts of cellphone or radio conversations of militants suspected of plotting attacks and overhead imagery provided by aircraft — both piloted and drones — or satellites, the officials said. (Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington)