Egypt detains Hamas official at Cairo airport

CAIRO - Egypt detained a senior Hamas official at Cairo International Airport, security sources said on Tuesday, a day after it reopened the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of the Gaza Strip.

Hassan Asseify, the deputy religious affairs minister in Hamas-ruled Gaza, was stopped on his way back from Saudi Arabia to the Palestinian enclave after Cairo airport security found "issues in the security approval for his entrance to the country," an airport security source said.

Asseify will remain in detention until issues with his paperwork are resolved, he said.

A second security source said Asseify was detained at dawn on Monday. The Islamist Hamas could not be reached for comment.