The international monitoring operation under UN guidance was launched to observe the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel following a 1979 war. Roughly 700 US servicemen are said to be engaged in the operation at the moment.
But the Pentagon is reducing the number of troops on the ground, as Daesh extremists have intensified their activities in the peninsula. In September 2015, four US nationals were injured as a result of an attack reportedly plotted by Daesh-linked actors.
A possible solution in this case could be the introduction of UAVs, Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.
The Obama administration is also considering moving a US contingent from a base in the North Sinai to the southern region of the peninsula, in an attempt to mitigate risks of terrorism. The possible relocation is being discussed with both Egypt and Israel.
Violent Islamists, said to be allied with Daesh, have become increasingly prevalent in Sinai following the toppling of the Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
