Egypt seizes ton of explosives on way to Sinai
01/20/2013 20:03
Passengers of truck carrying explosives were planning to carry out an ambush on Al-Shahid Ahmed Hamdi tunnel in Suez.
Egyptian soldiers in Rafah in the Sinai Peninsula Photo: reuters
Egyptian security forces seized a truck carrying a ton of explosives on its way
through a tunnel in Suez.
This was the largest single seizure of
explosives in Sinai.
Egyptian official says that 2.5 tons of similar
explosives were found in three separate searches over the past 10
days. A separate report by
DPA claims that 5 tons of explosives have been captured by authorities over the
past three months, quoting local media reports.
Egyptian security forces captured one ton of explosives on a
vehicle on its way through the Al-Shahid Ahmed Hamdi tunnel in Suez according to
the Egyptian Daily News. Maj.- Gen. Adel Rifaat, director of security in Suez,
said the passengers of the vehicle were suspected of planning to carry out an
ambush in the tunnel, according to the Daily News.
However, other reports
indicate the shipment was headed toward Sinai as and there has been no further
confirmation of reports about the plans to attack the tunnel
itself.
The driver was detained
for questioning.
This seizure follows a pattern of arms smuggling coming
from Libya and Sudan to Sinai and Gaza.