EL-ARISH: Egyptian police seized on Tuesday one ton of explosives near the border with the Gaza Strip destined to be smuggled to the Hamas-run enclave, a security official said.
The TNT, concealed in 18 plastic bags in an underground weapons cache north of the Rafah border post with Gaza, was seized by police following a tip-off from local residents, the official said.
The TNT was to be smuggled to Gaza, he told AFP.
Egyptian authorities also destroyed five tunnels under the Egyptian border with Gaza, the official added.
Israel says Gaza militants use the tunnels to smuggle weapons into the besieged Palestinian territory but the tunnels are also used to move petrol and various merchandise into the blockaded coastal strip.
Israel says it has destroyed dozens of such tunnels during its year-end offensive against Gaza. -AFP
