Security denies 3 Italians were kidnapped in Sinai

Security sources in southern Sinai have denied Tuesday’s reports that three Italian engineers working on a petroleum company in Sinai were kidnapped by a group of armed Bedouins. The sources asserted that, instead, the engineers' car was subject to a robbery after it was attacked by a group armed with machine guns. The four engineers on board were returning to their residence after the end of their shift. They added that, while the gunmen took the car before escaping to a rough mountainous area, the Italians were left completely unharmed. He said that a number of Bedouin leaders had interfered in an attempt to return the car. The reports follow the kidnapping of two Americans in Sinai in February of this year, although they were released hours later following negotiations made by the Egyptian authorities. The incident was then repeated in May when two American tourists were again released on the same day after being kidnapped near the popular tourist resort of Dahab. Bedouins in the area have attacked police stations, blocked some roads, and taken hostages in order to express their anger at “ill treatment” by authorities. The moves were also meant to pressure authorities into releasing imprisoned relatives of the perpetrators. On a related note, security and Bedouin sources said that gunmen kidnapped a tribal leader and one of the key figures of the Fawakhriya clan, the largest clan in Al-Arish, and demanded a ransom in exchange for his release. The sources said that unknown men in two 4-wheel drives attacked Sheikh Abdel-Shafi Selmi, bother of the former Shura Council representative for the dissolved National Democratic Party. The kidnappers led the man at gunpoint to an unknown destination in the mountainous area of central Sinai, after abducting him while he was driving his car to his farm on the Al-Tawil road, south east of Al-Arish. They demanded a 2 million EGP ransom to release him. The sources said that security authorities are locked in intense discussions with the tribal leaders in the area to release the hostage. They mentioned that financial disagreements between the two tribes were the most likely cause behind the operation.