By Rabie al-Sukkari

CAIRO

An Egyptian military source on Thursday denied media reports claiming that Egypt had sent fighter pilots to Syria to assist the Assad regime against armed opposition groups.

"Egypt does not send [military] forces abroad without an official announcement by its national defense council and council of ministers," the source, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, told Anadolu Agency.

The denial comes after Lebanese daily As-Safir reported on Thursday that Egypt had sent 18 fighter pilots to an airbase in Syria’s western Hama province.

"The deployment of military forces overseas is bound by rules laid out in Egypt’s constitution and law," the source said.

According to Egypt’s constitution, the president cannot dispatch military forces abroad without the consent of the country’s national defense council and two thirds of parliament.

Notably, in an interview on Portuguese state television earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt supported Syria’s national army.

And in mid-October, Syrian intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk visited Cairo, where he held talks with Egyptian security officials with the stated aim of "coordinating" the two country’s political stances.