About 20 Egyptian Air Force officers have been court-martialed as a result of a daylight reconnaissance flight by two Israeli Mirage Jet fighters, it was reported here today from reliable sources in Egypt. The sources said that the reconnaissance action took place about 10 days ago when the fighters penetrated Egypt’s Soviet-supplied air defense network between the Suez Canal and Cairo. Scores of eyewitnesses were said to have seen the Mirages swoop between the Cairo International Airport and a nearby military field before heading back to Israel.
The Egyptian Air Force and ground defense made no apparent attempt to stop them, according to some reports. But others, which could not be confirmed, said that one Egyptian MIG fighter gave chase. The court-martial showed how gravely Egypt regarded the incident, the sources said.
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