7 Egyptian security personnel abducted in Sinai

CAIRO (AP) ? Suspected militants in Egypt's Sinai abducted seven security personnel as they headed to Cairo for holidays early Thursday, security officials said. It was the first such kidnapping of security forces in the lawless peninsula.

The officials said masked gunmen ambushed two taxis at gunpoint outside the city of el-Arish, the capital of North Sinai governorate, fleeing with five policemen and one border guard captive. None of those abducted were in uniform, officials said, and one of the policemen was on holiday.

The taxi drivers reported that a seventh member of the security forces was also kidnapped, but authorities said they are still trying to identify him.

Four of the policemen work in the Rafah border terminal leading to the Gaza Strip, and one was in a riot police unit deployed in Sinai. The border guard was a member of the military.

Criminals and Islamic militant groups have exploited a security vacuum that developed in the Sinai since the 2011 uprising against longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Security officials say the kidnapping was carried out by militant groups known to the authorities who are hiding in North Sinai's rugged mountains. Two officials said the kidnapping came after the mother of an imprisoned militant said that her son was tortured in detention, causing his eyesight to fail. The imprisoned militant is held on charges of attacking a police station in the early days after Mubarak's ouster.

The officials said authorities were sending the family to visit their son in prison again and provide him with necessary medical attention in a bid to defuse anger over his treatment, and secure the safety of the captive security personnel. The officials said contact was established with the kidnappers, but refused to elaborate further. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the new instructions with the media.

Egypt's state news agency MENA reported that negotiations with the kidnappers were underway through mediators, but also didn't elaborate.

MENA said President Mohammed Morsi held an emergency meeting with the defense and interior ministers to discuss the kidnapping. In a statement, his office said the presidency was closely following the developments in the case.

The security officials said forces in the Sinai were on high alert, particularly along the border with the Gaza Strip. Movement was restricted for the multinational forces stationed in Sinai since the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed in 1979, the officials added.

The volatile northern Sinai, where militants often target police stations and security forces, borders Hamas-ruled Gaza as well as Israel. In August 2012, militants attacked soldiers near the border with Gaza, killing 16 of them in what was the most brazen militant attack on Egypt's military by in modern history. The perpetrators remain unidentified.

Complicating the situation is a longtime resentment by local tribes toward the central government, which they accuse of discrimination, neglect, and police brutality. Tribal Bedouins have briefly kidnapped foreigners to use them as bargaining chips with authorities, urging them to release imprisoned relatives. Drugs, immigrants and arms are smuggled through the mountainous terrain.

Morsi had pledged to restore security to the peninsula. Officials from the presidency at one point negotiated with locals to ease off on the crackdown and the pursuit of fugitives. In exchange, locals were to refrain from attacks on authorities or cross-border raids on Israel.

The U.S. has repeatedly discussed the situation in Sinai with Egyptian authorities and offered security and border control advice.

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Associated Press Writer Ashraf Sweilam contributed to this report from southern Sinai.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/7-egyptian-security-personnel-abducted-sinai-142304724.html

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