Sinai kidnappers free Egyptians

EGYPT: Kidnappers on Wednesday released three Egyptian policemen and four soldiers seized in the Sinai, the army said, leading to the reopening of a Gaza border crossing that police closed to protest the abductions.

“The seven security personnel have been released by their kidnappers in Sinai,” military spokesman Ahmed Aly said in a statement carried by Egypt’s official MENA news agency.

The conscripts, seized at gunpoint last week as they were returning from a leave of absence, were due in Cairo later on Wednesday.

President Mohamed Morsi was expected at the Almaza airforce base, where a host of officials including the ministers of defence and interior were preparing to welcome the seven, presidency sources said.

Their release comes “as a result of efforts by Egyptian military intelligence in coordination with tribal leaders in Sinai,” Aly said.

Shortly after the news of the release, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip reopened.

Rafah, the Palestinian territory’s sole border crossing for passengers outside of Israeli control, had been closed for five days by Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of their colleagues.

Egyptian troops and policemen had begun sweeps of north Sinai on Tuesday. The kidnappers were heavily armed with SAM anti-aircraft missiles and heavy machineguns, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said.

He said on Tuesday there were no negotiations with the kidnappers, who were demanding the release of jailed Bedouin militants, but tribal leaders were working to persuade the gunmen to release the hostages.

AFP