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Militant group in Egypt's Sinai says its fighters were target of Israeli drone strike
• CAIRO (AP) -- An al-Qaida-linked group active in the Sinai Peninsula said Saturday that its fighters were the target of a reported Israeli drone strike into Egyptian territory, a rare operation that could indicate increased Egyptian-Israeli security cooperation against militants in the lawless border zone.
• Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, in a statement posted on a militant website, said that a drone that crossed into Egyptian airspace killed four fighters as they were preparing a cross-border rocket strike into Israel. It said the dead were from Egyptian Sinai tribes and that the rocket squad's leader escaped.
• Egyptian security officials, speaking anonymously on Friday, said that a drone firing from the Israeli side of the border had killed five suspected militants.
• The conflicting accounts could not be reconciled. Both said the site of the strike was about five kilometers (three miles) inside Egypt.
• Israel has maintained official silence about the strike, suggesting that if the Jewish state was involved, it might be trying to avoid embarrassing the Egyptian military. An Egyptian military spokesman later denied the report but did not provide another cause for the explosion.
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Obama to cite progress in reducing claims backlog during address to disabled veterans
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will cite progress in reducing the backlog of disability claims when he addresses a gathering of disabled veterans on Saturday.
• The White House says Obama also will discuss research into traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among veterans and troops, as well as efforts to help veterans earn college degrees or get the credentials needed to compete for high-skilled jobs during his an appearance before the Disabled American Veterans' convention in downtown Orlando, Fla.
• First lady Michelle Obama will also address the veterans. Mrs. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, are leading a national effort to rally public support for military families.
• A top concern for veterans is the staggering backlog of disability claims for com (Continued on page 26)
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