Bedouin gunmen are said to have attacked a police station in the
northern Sinai governorate of El Arish. Officials said at least 10 people
were killed and 35 injured in the battle on late Feb. 11.
"The Bedouins were trying to free their relatives in jail linked to
recent attacks," an Egyptian security source said.
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The source said Bedouin insurgents in central and eastern Sinai have
sought to exploit the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They said
Bedouin smugglers and other operatives were storing weapons as well as
transporting equipment to the neighboring Gaza Strip.
Officials said at least 170 Bedouins have been in prison since 2009.
They said scores of additional Bedouins were arrested in late January and
February.
Bedouin attackers have begun firing rocket-propelled grenades and
mortars toward Egyptian police stations in Sinai. Reports from the
peninsula, said that police have abandoned scores of stations, checkpoints
and other facilities in fear of Bedouin attacks.