Egypt executes Bin Laden aides

CAIRO [MENL] -- Egypt has executed two Islamists believed to have been followers of Saudi fugitive billionaire Osama Bin Laden.

Egyptian sources said Ahmed Sayyed Naggar and Ahmed Ismail Osman were hanged in a Cairo prison on Wednesday. The two were extradited from Albania in 1998 after they were sentenced to death in Egypt.

Naggar and Osman were regarded as leaders in the outlawed Jihad organization, alleged to be responsible for several assassination attempts and terrorist attacks in Egypt. This included the 1997 attack on Western tourists mistaken for Israelis and the 1994 attempt to kill then-Prime Minister Atef Sidki.

The sources said the two Jihad leaders were captured and extradited amid the increased international cooperation in counterterrorism. They said many Egyptian fugitives had sought refuge in Muslim Albania and neighboring Kosovo.

The two were said to have been aides to Bin Laden. Egyptian security sources said Bin Laden responded to the extradition of Naggar and Osman by blowing up two U.S. embassies in east Africa in 1998.

The United States was said to have been instrumental in convincing Albanian authorities to extradite the Jihad leaders. Egyptian sources said the capture of Jihad leaders has paralyzed the organization and led to a revolt that overthrew JIhad leader Ayman Al Zowheri.

Earlier this year, Jihad announced it would end attacks in Egypt and focus on Israeli targets.