Editing Unit 777 (section)

==Creation==
In 1978, Egyptian Army Special Forces were dispatched to [[Larnaca International Airport]], [[Larnaca]], [[Cyprus]] in response to [[Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport|the hijacking]] of a [[Cyprus Airways (1947–2015)|Cyprus Air]] passenger aircraft by operatives of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] (PFLP).  Cairo merely informed Cypriot president Kyprianou that "people are on the way to help rescue the hostages" and did not reveal who was on board nor what their intentions were. Upon landing in Cyprus, the Egyptian force immediately launched an all-out assault, dispatching a single [[Jeep]] all-terrain vehicle with three men to race ahead of an estimated 58 troops (another report has this figure at 74) moving towards the hijacked aircraft on foot. As the [[Egypt|Egyptian]] troops advanced quickly towards the hijacked [[DC-8]] aircraft and the Cypriot special forces who surrounded it, the Cypriot special forces reportedly issued a single verbal warning to halt and submit, though in other reports, the Cypriots issued two verbal warnings, the second demand for the Egyptians to return to their aircraft. As this occurred, the occupants of the Jeep and the Cypriot operators exchanged gunfire, and the Egyptian Jeep was struck by a [[rocket propelled grenade]] (RPG), as well as gunfire, killing all three occupants. As the vehicle came to a halt, the Cypriots and the main Egyptian force confronted each other at a range of less than 300 metres (330 yd), and it is variously reported that the Egyptians, who lacked any form of cover, dropped down onto the tarmac in prone firing positions. At this moment, the two forces engaged each other with heavy gunfire, and the Cypriots opened fire on the Egyptian C-130H aircraft with a 106 mm anti-tank missile, striking it in the nose and killing the three crew on board.

With their aircraft destroyed, the Egyptian force and the Cypriot special forces exchanged heavy gunfire for nearly an hour in sporadic fighting on the open [[Airport apron|tarmac]]. Some of the Egyptian troops took cover in a nearby empty [[Air France]] aircraft.

Kyprianou, who was watching the events unfolding from the airport control tower, was forced to withdraw from the windows and take cover as Egyptian commandos shot at the tower with automatic gunfire.<ref name="Ryan, p.22" />  Of the Egyptian commando force, 15 men were killed, in addition to three crew of the [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130H Hercules]] transport aircraft who were killed when it was struck by a missile. An estimated 15 more Egyptian commandos were reported to have been taken injured to [[Larnaca]] General Hospital with [[Gunshot wound|gunshot wounds]]. No fatalities of Cypriot commandos were recorded. Following the assault, it emerged that the surrender of the two hostage-takers had already been secured at the time of the failed Egyptian attack, and the two men were taken prisoner by the Cypriots and later extradited to [[Egypt]], where they received death sentences, later commuted to life sentences.The aftermath of the failed night-time incident and the need of a professional counter-terrorism unit in [[Egypt]] resulted in the creation of Unit 777.