Pentagon: US To Send 10 Apache Helicopters To Egypt

Washington plans to deliver ten Apache helicopters to Egypt to bolster their counterterrorism efforts, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel confirmed to his Egyptian counterpart Colonel General Sedki Sobhy during a Saturday morning call.



Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby provided the readout of the call to reporters Saturday evening.



It did not provide a timetable for the delivery of the aircraft.



The Obama administration announced in April that it would begin to release $650 million of its annual $1.5 billion in foreign assistance to Egypt, and would send 10 Apache helicopters to the Egyptian military.



Both Hagel and Sobhy discussed regional security and the U.S.-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Leavnt, or ISIL, during their call.



Kirby also said that Hagel thanked Sobhy for Egypt's assistance in brokering an end to recent hostilities in the Gaza Strip.



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