Some 25 Egyptians
arrested in November are being questioned by prosecutors for allegedly
planning terrorist attacks, a security official and a lawyer said
Sunday.
The security official said the suspects were arrested on
charges of stockpiling weapons and explosives to be used in "attacks
against targets inside Egypt." The men were
arrested in Mansoura, northeast of Cairo, two months ago and are
believed to be members of a new Islamic militant group.
The official and lawyer both spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigations.
"They
are accused of forming a new Islamic militant group based on ideas of
Sayyid Qutb," said the lawyer referring to an Egyptian ideologue
executed in 1966 whose ideas provide much of the intellectual basis for
today's militant groups.
The Egyptian independent daily Al-Masry
Al-Youm reported Sunday that the group was planning to attack US
ships in the Suez Canal and the tomb of revered Jewish holy man, Abu
Hatzira in the Nile Delta.
Quoting security officials, the paper
also said the group was planning to ship weapons and explosives to
Hamas for use in their rockets.
The report added that some of the suspects have received training in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.
Egypt
security forces have recently reported the arrest of several new
terror groups looking to carry out attacks against Egyptian and
foreign targets, mainly US and Israeli interests.