CAIRO: Egyptian authorities on Thursday found weapons and explosives in the Sinai desert that they believe were destined for the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, a security official told AFP.
Authorities found 20 mortars, 80 kilos of TNT explosives and a bomb with Hebrew writing on it, in the village of Baghdad in the Al-Hasna region of central Sinai, the official said.
Smugglers had hidden the weapons and explosives, ready to be transported to Gaza, the official added.
Egyptian authorities regularly announce the seizure of weapons and the discovery of tunnels used to smuggle weapons into the Palestinian territory.
Israel and the United States have repeatedly accused Egypt of not doing enough to secure its border with the Gaza Strip, which has been under the control of the Islamist group Hamas since last June.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his country was going to buy sophisticated equipment from the United States to control the border.
Earlier this month US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Cairo to do more to stop arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip, an issue which has strained Egypt s ties with Israel.
In December, the US Congress froze $100 million in aid for Egypt until Rice could certify that Cairo was doing enough to stem the arms flow.
