Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — A leading arms smuggler to the Gaza Strip was said to have
been killed in Sudan.

Officials said a leading Sudanese weapons trader was killed in his car
on May 22 in Port Sudan. They identified the victim as Nasser Awadallah Ahmed Said, 65, deemed a leading member of the Ababda tribe.

“The style of the car explosion was similar to Israel’s attack on Red
Sea state [in 2011],” Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti said.

“A team of experts in explosives will investigate the bombing,” Sudanese Gov. Mohammed Drabakti said.

The explosion that killed Said took place at the entrance to Port Sudan. The suspected attack sparked a security alert in the Red Sea city and a panel was formed to investigate.

The Ababda tribe was said to represent Sudan’s leading weapons
smugglers. Officials said the tribe engaged in arms smuggling from Iran to Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

This marked the second attack on Sudanese smugglers alleged to have sent
missiles and rockets to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

In April 2011, two
alleged smugglers were killed in a missile strike on Port Sudan. Later, the
regime of President Omar Bashir blamed Israel for the attack.

  Ababda tribe, Car bomb kills arms smuggler; Sudan links attack to Israel, Gaza Strip arms smuggling, Omar Bashir