The Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday the arrest of two alleged members of extremist groups in North Sinai as part of a widescale security campaign it launched two days ago to restore stability there.
The suspects allegedly possessed machine guns and ammunition.
A ministry statement said one of the men runs a workshop that makes explosives and explosive belts. It also said that both men took part in the attacks on an Arish police station on 29 July.
Joint police and army forces raided the workshop and seized a large number of arms including a sniper rifle, 718 bullets, a sound suppressor, a 39-by-7.62mm machine gun and three gun magazines,” the statement said.
They also seized eight bombs, three rocket-propelled grenades, black flags with religious slogans, tools used in making explosives such as ball bearings, a jar containing a chemical mixture used in making explosives, rocks, tin, two car alarms, two remote-controlled door bells, a voltmeter and a dismantled landmine.
The suspects admitted that they possessed these weapons and tools and that one of them ran the workshop, the statement said.
The two men also reportedly said they planned to use them to carry out attacks on police stations and army headquarters.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
