Egypt accused Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of plotting to "carry out attacks inside the country" and "spreading Shiite ideology".
Egypt's "state prosecutor has received a statement from state security which shows that leaders from the Lebanese Hizbullah have called on its cadres to recruit members to its movement," according to a statement from the prosecutor obtained by AFP. It charged that the campaign was launched with "the aim of carrying out acts of aggression inside the country," and that Nasrallah had appointed members of the group to carry out such actions.
Egyptian police have detained 49 people in connection with the case, the prosecutor said. The men are suspected of having rented homes in Suez Canal cities to monitor movements in the canal and of reconnoitering tourist resorts in north and south Sinai.
They are also accused of renting homes in Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip to smuggle weapons and contraband into the coastal enclave which is ruled by Hamas, a judicial source told AFP.
The prosecutor's statement also accuses Hizbullah of "spreading Shiite ideology" in Egypt.
