EL-ARISH, Egypt (AFP) — Egyptian authorities on Friday found a large cache of weapons and explosives hidden in the mountains of the Sinai peninsula, a security official told AFP.
North Sinai authorities found "25 anti-aircraft missiles, 12 anti-personnel and anti-armour grenades, eight mortars, as well as five surface to surface and surface to air missiles," the official said.
"A large number of gun barrels and large amounts of detonators used for explosives and mines were also found," the official added.
He said authorities had received information that arms dealers in the area were extracting explosive material from ammunition left over from the Arab-Israeli wars.
Israel and the United States have repeatedly accused Egypt of not doing enough to stop arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip, which has been under the control of Islamist group Hamas for a year. The charges have been vehemently denied by Cairo.
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