Reports of Egyptian forces pursuing suspected Hezbollah spies

Apr 13, 2009, 10:28 GMT

Cairo - Egyptian security forces on Monday surrounded Palms city in central Sinai in search of 10 Lebanese nationals suspected of spying for Hezbollah, security sources said.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the German Press Agency dpa that the suspects, believed to belong to a cell of the militant Shiite Lebanese movement, were hiding in Sinai's mountainous areas.

Witnesses in Palm city, however, disputed the sources' account of a security operation, saying no forces could be seen operating there on Monday.

Palms city is a small town surrounded by deserts and mountains.

Egypt on Sunday brought charges of spying against nine of the 49 people it has detained on suspicion of belonging to the Hezbollah cell operating in Egypt and supporting the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday confirmed that one of the 49 detainees had been working on his behalf in Egypt, trying to assist Hamas.

Last week Egypt's Public Prosecutor Abdel-Magid Mohammed accused Nasrallah of dispatching agents to Egypt in January during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

He said the Hezbollah cell had rented apartments overlooking the Suez Canal in order to spy on traffic through the canal.

He also accused them of spying on resorts in Sinai, and renting rooms in fashionable districts where Hezbollah agents held training workshops on spreading Shiite ideology in Egypt.