DHAKA: Egypt has tightened control of crossings from the Sinai peninsula and continued assaults on militants after an Islamist group based there said it tried to kill the interior minister in Cairo last week.

The state news agency reported on Monday, reports The Jerusalem Post.

The group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility on Sunday for Thursday’s suicide bombing aimed at interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim.

It promised more attacks in revenge for a crackdown on Egypt’s Islamists, raising fears that militant violence in Sinai could spread across the country.

The Egyptian military on Saturday launched a major assault on militants in North Sinai, killing or wounding at least 30 people in clashes close to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The assault continued on Monday, with security forces killing nine and arresting 10 ‘armed elements’ near Sinai cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, state news agency MENA reported early on Tuesday, citing security sources.

BDST: 1431 HRS, SEPT 10, 2013
RoR/BSK