Two U.S. Officers Reportedly Backed Egyptian Commandos

VALLETTA, Malta —  At least two senior U.S. military officers traveled with--and gave support to--an Egyptian commando unit that stormed a hijacked EgyptAir jetliner in an attack last Sunday that left 58 people dead, according to an authoritative source close to the military operation.

The U.S. officers, who reportedly belong to the U.S. military mission in Cairo, arrived with the Egyptian commandos and were present at the commandos’ operational headquarters at Malta’s Luqa International Airport during the assault on the Egyptian Boeing 737, according to this official and to reports from diplomatic sources.

The United States had sought to keep the presence of the officers in Malta secret. Neither the U.S. Embassy here nor the Maltese government would confirm or deny the presence of U.S. military officers with the Egyptians at Luqa Airport. Told on Friday of the details that were emerging, State Department spokesman Charles Redman declined to comment.

Providing no details, the authoritative source here said the officers provided “technical assistance” to the Egyptian operation. Maltese officials have told diplomats here that the Americans actually “coordinated” the assault, but this has not been substantiated.

(In Washington, sources confirmed Saturday that a general and colonel traveled with the commandos but contended that they provided no technical assistance and did not involve themselves in the rescue operation. There were suggestions at the Pentagon that military leaders were unhappy that the Army officers went along on the commando raid at all because they had no specialized knowledge of such operations.)

The arrival of the U.S. officers in full battle dress, an unanticipated development for Maltese officials, triggered an angry dispute between American and Maltese officials at the airport and may have contributed to the failure of Malta to allow in time another American military team to come to aid the Egyptians.

The revelation regarding the presence of U.S. military officers indicated a much wider U.S. role behind the Egyptian assault on the hijacked EgyptAir plane than the U.S. government has officially admitted.