Egyptian media says Hizbullah cell planned bombings in Taba
Customs officials to take special measures with Lebanese
Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab Affairs Salaheddine Abdel-Rahman disclosed information to Arab ambassadors in Cairo on Friday on the investigation into the alleged Hizbullah cell suspected of carrying out operations in Egypt, Egyptian media said.
According to the reports, an Egyptian security official said Friday that strict instructions were issued to the country”s Interior Ministry, specifically to seaport and airport officials in charge of checking Lebanese passports and identity cards.
"A legal source added that the members of the alleged cell would be brought before the Egyptian court next week," the reports said.
Meanwhile, interrogation of the so-called Hizbullah cell has uncovered that the group was tasked with monitoring the Suez Canal, Egyptian media reports said.
Press reports from Egypt on Friday said Hizbullah detainees belonging to a six-member "Port Said cell" have confessed that prime suspect Sami Shehab had assigned them to buy a boat to monitor the Canal.
Egypt”s Al-Akhbar newspaper identified them as Ayman Mustafa, Ihab Ahmad, Ihab Assayed, Ibrahim Issam, Mohammad Abdel-Fattah and Hasan al-Manakhli.
It said the detainees also confessed that Shehab, whose real name is Mohammad Youssef Mansour, had asked them to rent a fish shop in Port Said for use as cover to monitor the Suez Canal and ship activity.
Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat quoted well-informed sources as saying that interrogation has uncovered that the Hizbullah cell, which includes 49 suspects – including Egyptian, Lebanese, Palestinian and Sudanese members – had planned three major car bombing attacks in tourist cities on the Red Sea and the Sinai area.
The sources said the suspects admitted to knowing key Hizbullah suspect Mohammad Qabalan and confessed to meeting him several times.
Interrogation has also revealed that Qabalan was planning, with the help of other Hizbullah intelligence men who accompanied him to Egypt, to carry out three major attacks using explosive belts and booby-trapped cars in Taba, it added.
Sources in Lebanon, meanwhile, told An-Nahar newspaper that Hizbullah was avoiding an escalation of the crisis with Egypt and is showing flexibility toward resolving the issue in the best possible way.
Well-informed sources told the paper that Hizbullah was willing to "turn the page on the crisis" if Egypt hands over Shehab to Lebanese authorities.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Thursday his country will "hit with an iron fist anyone who messes with its national security."
"Egypt will not allow the presence of anti-peace powers on its territories," Mubarak said in a veiled attack on Hizbullah.
Mubarak accused "certain forces" in the Middle East of attempting to harm Egypt”s security, adding that the country”s enemies were cynically taking advantage of the Palestinians for their own narrow interests.
"We are aware of your plans … We will expose your plot and catch you," Mubarak vowed. "Stop [exploiting] the Palestinian issue and be warned of Egypt”s fury."