By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Two Palestinians had helped fund and train members of an Egyptian terrorist group blamed for bombings in Sinai, Egyptian authorities said Tuesday.
An Interior Ministry statement said a Palestinian it named as only Abu Suleiman provided the Egyptian group with money. Another Palestinian, identified by the statement as Maged al-Deri, trained members of the group in the use of explosives and firearms in the Gaza Strip. The statement described Abu Suleiman and al-Deri as Muslim extremists, but did not elaborate. A third Palestinian, Tamer al-Nasserat, was planning to come to Egypt to carry out attacks, it said.
It was the first time that Egypt made such a specific link between the Sinai bombings - which killed 120 people, including foreigners, and targeted tourist installations - to activist Palestinians in the Gaza strip.
Tuesday's statement said el-Mallahi had sent for training in Gaza the three suicide bombers who carried out bombings last month in the Sinai resort of Dahab.