Middle EastOperations
Egyptian authorities arrest Suez Canal bomb plot suspects
Cairo: Just hours after Splash reported that Islamic State is intending to target the newly expanded Suez Canal, reports have emerged that Egyptian authorities have arrested 13 members of the Muslim Brotherhood for planting bombs around the Suez Canal.
The 13 suspects arrested includes an employee of the Suez Canal Authority.
Last week saw more than 100 killed in bitter fighting between authorities and Islamic State militants in Sinai, and one security source told Splash: “I’m certain Muslim Brotherhood have the canal owned and it could get very, very ugly.”
A new 72 km-long channel is due to open next month which will allow convoys to head in both directions of the waterway for the first time.