CAIRO (Reuters) - A man named by the Egyptian authorities as a member of a group behind bomb attacks in the Sinai peninsula received weapons and bomb-making training in the Palestinian territories, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. | Fancy that |
An Interior Ministry statement said Yousri Mohareb and his two brothers, part of the group the authorities have blamed for a series of attacks on tourist resorts since 2004, had communicated with Palestinian religious fundamentalists.
The last attack, in the resort of Dahab in April, killed 20 people. Mohareb had said he received congratulations from "Palestinian elements" for the Dahab bombings.
The statement said a Palestinian had helped Mohareb enter the territories. Security sources said Mohareb had gone to Gaza last September when Israeli forces withdrew from the border between Gaza and Egypt. Palestinians blew holes in the border and poured into Egypt while some Egyptians crossed into Gaza.
"The Palestinian Majid al-Deiri had ... facilitated the entrance of Yousri Mohareb to the Palestinian territories, his training in bomb-making techniques and use of weapons," it said. It did not say whether Deiri was in police custody.
Mohareb was in touch with another Palestinian, Tamer al-Nuseirat, who had said he was willing to take part in attacks in Egypt, the statement said. It did not say whether Nuseirat was in custody.
Nasr Khamis el-Milahi, named by the interior ministry as leader of the group, had sought to send other militants for training in the Gaza Strip, the statement said. It did not say whether they had actually gone there. Police killed Milahi this month. His group, named by Egypt as Tawhid wal Jihad (One God and Jihad), had used explosives from landmines left in the Sinai desert for their bombs, the statement said.
Egypt has described the group as Sinai Bedouins with militant Islamic views, though the group itself has never issued a statement or claimed responsibility for attacks. The police have killed a total of seven suspects since the Dahab bombings, the statement said.
The interior ministry blame the same group for bomb attacks on the Taba Hilton and two beach camps further south in October 2004 which killed 34. They said the leader of the group behind that attack was a Palestinian.
A Palestinian cabinet spokesman said the Palestinian government had been promised more information than released by the Egyptian government statement.
"We are still awaiting more details but we have previously condemned the bombings in Dahab and we have said we reject and denounce any action that harms Egyptian security," Ghazi Hamad told reporters in Gaza.