Egyptian border police clashed Sunday with four Palestinian arms smugglers and seized a shipment of weapons near the border with the Gaza Strip, security sources said.
Two of the smugglers fled after the firefight in and around the demolished houses of a former refugee camp, the sources said, however refused to specify the fate of the other two, according to AFP.
Police discovered 84 automatic rifles, 162 cartridges, 42,000 rounds of ammunition, and two rocket-propelled grenades in the area known as Canada Camp.
In September 2001, Egypt demolished dozens of homes in the area, on suspicion they were linked to tunnels allegedly used for smuggling weapons to the Palestinian self-rule Gaza Strip.
Israeli media reports frequently accuse Egyptians of facilitating the smuggling of arms into the Palestinian territories through tunnels under the Israeli-controlled border between Egypt and Gaza. (Albawaba.com)
