Al-Qaeda Cell Smashed in Egypt

On Saturday Egyptian police arrested seven people believed to be part of an al-Qaeda cell operating in Egypt. Weapons and explosives were found in the group's possession.

It is thought that the cell in question was responsible for the Cairo bazaar bombing which killed a seventeen year old French girl in February, and wounded 24 other tourists at the Khan al-Khalili bazaar.

The cell is called the Islamic Army of Palestine, and it is suspected that two Egyptian men living abroad are the leaders. What is most interesting is the make up of the group of suspects arrested:

Egypt said on Saturday that police have arrested seven members of an alleged Al-Qaeda-affiliated cell over a Cairo bazaar bombing three months ago that killed a teenaged French tourist.

The interior ministry said those arrested over the February attack were a French woman of Albanian origin, a British man of Egyptian descent, two Palestinians, a Belgian man of Tunisian descent and two Egyptians.

The Belgian suspect told police during interrogation that he had been instructed to accompany Al-Qaeda operatives from Belgium to France to launch an attack there, it said.

The ministry said some cell members had travelled to the Gaza Strip through cross-border smuggling tunnels to receive military training there.

Some suspects said they had also been instructed to attack tourist resorts and fuel pipelines in the Sinai peninsula, the statement said.

Hat tip: Islam in Europe.