EGYPT: FBI HELPING AL-QAEDA HUNT, PRESS REPORTS

Cairo, 14 Sept. (AKI) - Egyptian intelligence officials are working with FBI agents on the investigation and hunt for alleged terrorists who infiltrated Egypt last month, according to opposition daily al-Wafd. The newspaper says the joint operation involves combing the entire area close to the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, the suspects' likely entry point, and claims that the security forces have arrested eight people in recent weeks. The suspects, who are being detained, are accused of belonging to organisations based on religious ideologies.

The arrest of a suspected terrorist and the information gathered from his laptop, have shown that their targets were once again the tourist resorts on the Red Sea, security sources said.

More than 70 Egyptians were arrested earlier this month in and around Alexandria, while another group was detained in the Nile Delta town of Damanhur.

"They were arrested because they consulted Islamist websites linked to militant groups," said a lawyer representing the detainees.

The news reports of the presence of al-Qaeda operatives in Egypt have been met with scepticisim by many experts and analysts of Islamic terrorism.