Egypt's State Security Court has set February 14 as the date to try 25 men, including two Palestinians, for allegedly forming an al-Qaeda cell and plotting to attack government and foreign targets in the country, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) quoted judiciary sources as saying Friday. State Security prosecutors have charged the Egyptian and Palestinian suspects with setting up the terror cell and collecting weapons and ammunition to be used in attacking oil tankers and oil pipe-lines near the Suez Canal, the sources said. The intended attacks did not take place. The 25 men have also been accused of supplying financial aid to al-Qaeda, and coordinating and facilitating the travel of some Egyptian and Arab youths to Afghanistan, where they were to receive military training. During questioning, the suspects told the prosecutors that two Palestinians were also involved in the plot, the source said according to Al-Gomhuria newspaper. The suspects were also charged with shooting four people dead when they raided an Egyptian jeweller's shop in northeast Cairo last year to raise money for their plot, the sources said. However, they vehemently deny all charges.
