President Mohamed Morsi fired his intelligence chief,Mourad Mowafi,and other top security officials Wednesday in a sweeping response to the killings of 16 soldiers in the Sinai. The far-reaching purge affected officials accused of lapses that contributed to the deaths of the soldiers,and others who probably played no role but were seen as too closely tied to remnants of Egypts old order. Morsi announced that he would replace the head of the military police,several Interior Ministry officials and the head of the presidential guard. He also fired the governor of North Sinai,distancing himself,at least symbolically,from the governments hated legacy in the region,remembered as much for its brutality as its neglect. The moves represented Morsis latest attempt to reclaim authority from the generals who took power after the fall of Hosni Mubarak. At the same time,the shake-up reflected the outcome of what analysts said was probably a carefully brokered deal,by a president and a military willing to make concessions to blunt their critics after the soldiers deaths. Early Wednesday,the military was eager to show how seriously it was prepared to deal with the attack on its soldiers,sending troops and armored carriers through Sinai in a hunt for the perpetrators. Helicopters fired repeatedly,in the first airstrikes by Egypts military in the region in decades,though it was unclear to residents what,if anything,the strikes had hit. Officials leaked reports that 20 militants were killed during the operation,but there was no corroboration of that from residents in the towns where patrols occurred or from Interior Ministry officials who said they were in contact with hospitals.
