CAIRO, Aug 4 (Aswat Masriya) - The United State handed Egypt five tank turrets last week to be used in American-Egyptian tank production inside a tank plant in Egypt, the U.S. embassy in Cairo announced on Tuesday. 

U.S. Embassy Senior Defense Official in Cairo Major General Charles Hooper said the delivery will provide Egypt's armed forces with "additional means to fight extremism in the region," in a statement provided by the embassy.  

Egypt is battling a wave of militancy in the Sinai peninsula, where militant attacks have intensified following Mursi's ouster in 2013.

The U.S. currently provides Egypt with $1.3 billion to support Egypt's "security and military efforts to confront terrorism" and will deliver 14 more turrets, which are all being used for M1A1 tank production, this August, the embassy said. 

The delivery of the turrets, which was made on July 31, coincided with the delivery of eight advanced fighter jets to Egypt on July 30 and 31.

The delivery came shortly ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Egypt to for the bi-lateral strategic dialogue between the two countries. 

He and his Egyptian counterpart agreed to reaching new ideas to set the tone for bi-lateral ties, especially on the military level. 

The top American diplomat told an Egyptian press conference that his country supports Egypt's fight against "terrorism" but said there must be trust between the government and the people, adding that without this trust, there will be more violence.  

He added that there msut be differentiation between those who use violence for their own purposes and those who wish to peacefully participate in political dialogue. 

Egypt's relations with the U.S. turned tense when the U.S. temporarily halted its military aid to the Middle Eastern country following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, after mass protests against his rule. 

Military aid has nevertheless eventually resumed.