DHAKA: Egyptian police have raided the office of the Qatari news TV in Cairo and arrested 11 Qataris allegedly for illegal operation and residence amid tensions between the two Arab countries.

The late Wednesday crackdown, the latest on the station’s bureau in Egypt, came upon a tip-off that firearms were stashed away in the office in the Cairo quarter of Dokki, reported the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram.

Police did not find the alleged arms, but seized unlicensed transmission equipment and tapes, said Al Ahram, reports gulfnews.com.

Four of the 11 arrested staffers were released on Thursday after investigations showed that their stay in Egypt is legal, said security sources.

The others are still held for further questioning. There was no comment from the Qatari embassy in Cairo.

Egyptian officials and media have repeatedly accused Al Jazeera of being biased to president Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood whom the army deposed in July following enormous street protests against his one-year-old rule.

The broadcaster closed its office in Cairo after police raided it and temporarily arrested some of its employees in the wake of Mursi’s overthrow.

In September, an Egyptian court ordered the closure of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, an affiliate of Al Jazeera, citing operation with licence.

BDST: 1656 HRS, DEC 12, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor