CAIRO: According to the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, Egypt had arrested three men in the Sinai Peninsula allegedly planning terrorist activities only 5 days ahead of a rocket attack that killed one person in the Jordanian port town of Aqaba. The newspaper reported that the men were arrested in Sinai while in possession of bomb-making equipment and explosives. The men were detained by Bedouins who were working in the tourism industry and then transferred to Egyptian police for questioning. According to the Bedouin population, the three men are in cohorts with those that are responsible for the rocket attack on Eilat, Israel, and Aqaba, but Egyptian security sources have denied such accusations. “Authorities questioned the suspects regarding their connection to those who fired the rockets on Eilat and Aqaba,” an Egyptian official was quoted as saying in the report. Egypt had repeatedly denied that the rocket was fired from within its borders, but despite that denial, had been reported to have conducted a widespread arrest campaign in Sinai over the past two days, following the rocket reports. The rocket landed in Aqaba and killed at least one person and wounded five others, Jordanian officials reported. “The authorities have identified the location from which the rockets were launched and have strong clues about who was behind the attack,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying in the report by the Jordan Times. Israeli media said four other rockets fell near the Israeli port of Eilat, causing no casualties. The Jordanian cabinet, which held a regular weekly session Tuesday night, pledged that Jordan “will continue to stand firm against terrorism and extremism, regardless of it motives and those who support and stand behind it. “Jordan will not hesitate to take any necessary action against anyone or any party tempted to harm the kingdom's security and stability and to pursue the perpetrators of this criminal attack,” the statement said. BM
