CAIRO
The Egyptian army announced on Sunday that it had destroyed six tunnels inside a mosque in northern Sinai leading to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
In a statement on his Facebook page, army spokesman Ahmed Ali said the army had discovered tunnel openings inside the mosque used by "terrorists" in smuggling and in moving between Gaza and Sinai.
Ali said the tunnels were destroyed by water flooding.
The spokesman said, meanwhile, that the army had managed to arrest five "extremists," including a senior leader.
He said the arrestees were involved in a series of attacks on army personnel and policemen in the Egyptian side of Rafah.
The army has been launching a comprehensive crackdown on what it calls "Islamist militants" in Sinai for several months.
The crackdown also includes the destruction of hundreds of tunnels between Sinai and the Gaza Strip.
By Islam Mosaad
englishnews@aa.com.tr
