Police hunt suspected militants in Sinai

CAIRO: Egyptian police are searching for five suspected militants in Sinai, focusing on areas surrounding popular tourist resorts in the region and nearby Bedouin camps, security sources said. The sources said police were checking laptops for explosive devices that they believed were brought into the area by militants posing as tourists. Egypt s interior ministry had no details, but some police sources suggested the suspects were affiliated with Al-Qaeda. Security has been tightened in both north and south Sinai and at the entrances and exits of towns. Police have distributed a list with the names, passport numbers and descriptions of the suspects to checkpoints and police stations, the sources said. Egyptian police have concentrated on the Sinai area in its hunt for Islamic militants it suspects of involvement in bomb attacks targeting tourist resorts in recent years. Both police and suspected militants have died in pitched gun battles in the vast mountainous region. Israel warned its citizens against travel to Sinai on Tuesday, urging those already there to leave immediately. Egyptian authorities have blamed a local group called Tawhid wal Jihad (One God and Jihad) for bombings and attacks in Sinai over the past two years that killed more than 80 people. Reuters