Egypt indicts ‘Bin Laden of Sinai’ for planning Sunday’s border terror attack

Egypt on Friday indicted a terrorist, nicknamed the “Bin Laden of Sinai,” for planning and executing Sunday’s attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing, Palestinian media reported on Saturday.

The 62-year-old man, whose name was not published, was one of nine suspects arrested by Egyptian authorities in the Sinai town of Sheikh Zowead on suspicion of perpetrating the terrorist attack on the Egyptian-Israeli border in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed.

[mappress mapid=”2176″]

“Bin Laden of Sinai” and four of his alleged accomplices, including a man in possession of 22 Egyptian citizens’ ID cards, were charged with attacking police officers and stations in northern Sinai, belonging to a jihadi group, and smuggling weapons to and from the Gaza Strip. The five were taken to Cairo, and three men were released from police custody.

In the raid early Friday morning, troops stormed a house in Sheikh Zowead, close to the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, and caught the nine suspected terrorists while they were asleep.

Among them was Selmi Zeyoud, whom the official described as a “dangerous element” and a brother to a slain jihadist.

AP contributed to this report