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Egypt discovers large explosives cache near Gaza border

Security forces find 500 kilograms of TNT explosives hidden in sacks near country's border with Strip, police officer says

Egyptian security forces found 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of TNT explosives Sunday hidden in sacks near the country's border with the Gaza Strip, a police officer said.

 

Police discovered the cache covered with bushes in northern Sinai after receiving a tip from local Bedouins, reported the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

 

Bedouins working for the authorities led them to the location of the explosives near el-Toayel village, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, the official said.

 

Smuggling across the border into Gaza or Israel has long provided a livelihood for some Bedouin. Weapons, cigarettes and foreigners seeking jobs in Israel are all taken surreptitiously across the border.

 

Israel has repeatedly accused Egypt of not doing enough to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza, particularly through tunnels. Cairo recently said it would make a greater effort to stop smuggling.

 

Egypt has also had problems with illicit weapons activity in the remote Sinai Peninsula. Islamic militants have carried out three major bomb attacks in Sinai since October 2004. The blasts in the resorts of Sharm el-Sheik, Taba and Dahab killed 125 people.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.19.07, 23:01
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