Egypt seizes US-made missiles en-route to Gaza
Published Friday 04/01/2013 (updated) 05/01/2013 14:15
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=553343

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian security forces seized a stash of
US-made missiles on Friday in the Sinai peninsula, Ma'an's correspondent
said.

Egyptian security sources told Ma'an that they believe the weapons were
ready to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip via underground tunnels.

The six anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles were stored in a remote desert
area in north Sinai, with security forces forming a committee to seize the
weaponry.

It is thought the weapons were most likely smuggled into Egypt via Libya, in
an agreement that they would eventually be transferred into Gaza, security
sources said.

Egyptian security forces are trying to reassert control over the Sinai,
which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip and which has suffered from
lawlessness since the revolt that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in
February 2011.

The army announced recently it had seized smuggled rockets and other weapons
in Egypt's western desert bordering Libya, which has been awash with arms
since the civil war which toppled longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in
2011.

Egyptian President Muhammed Mursi has vowed to restore order in Sinai, but
mistrust runs deep between the indigenous Bedouin population there and the
central government in Cairo.

Reuters contributed to this report