Terrorists targeting Suez Canal escape

 JERUSALEM – Members of a vast Hezbollah terrorist cell suspected of planning attacks against tourist sites and economic targets in the Suez Canal have escaped from Egyptian prison, according to informedEgyptiansecurity sources speaking to WND.
The event raises the prospect of further instability in the Suez region, which carries about 8 percent of global seaborne trade.


The cell was arrested in June 2009. At the time, Egypt's public prosecutor, Abdel-Magid Mohammed, announced the country had arrested 13 alleged Hezbollah agents on suspicion of planning attacks inside Egypt.


The agents are suspected of establishing a vast terrorist network in Egypt focusing ontargetsinside the country as well as aiding Hamas in the neighboring Gaza Strip.
According toEgyptiansecurity sources speaking to WND yesterday, 10 members of the cell, which the sources said included Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, escaped fromEgyptianprison in recent days amid chaos that has engulfed the nation and has distractedEgyptianforces.

A seniorEgyptiansecurity official, speaking from Cairo, told WND in 2009 his country had information Hezbollah cells – working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – had been coordinating terrorist activities inside Egypt with al-Qaida elements known to be present in the Sinai.


The accusation that Iranian-backed agents were working with al-Qaida could not be verified by Israeli security officials. If accurate, it would mark a major turning point for Hezbollah, which has openly clashed with al-Qaida over ideology. Hezbollah espouses a strict Shiite Islamic belief system, while al-Qaida adheres to fundamentalist Sunni Muslim beliefs.
Al-Qaida has been fingered in a string of major, deadly suicide bombings inside Egypt the past few years mostly targeting hotels and othertouristsites. TheEgyptiangovernment previously has admitted it was likely al-Qaida was still operating in the Sinai.
TheEgyptiansecurity official speaking to WND said the Hezbollah-Iranian agents in Egypt were working with al-Qaida to plot attacks againsttouristsites, particularly those known to be popular with Israelis.


According to separate informed security officials with direct knowledge of the situation, Hezbollah, working directly withIran, began setting up cells inside Egypt at least two years ago. The cells consisted of well over 80 agents, said the sources.
The goals of the cells operating inside the country include plotting to destabilize theEgyptianregime to advance Iranian interests, planning attacks againsttouristsites with Israeli casualties in mind, aiding Hamas in Gaza and establishing a base of Iranian operations along the strategic SuezCanal.

WND



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