Security officials say tribesmen have kidnapped 18 Egyptian border guards along the border with Israel in retaliation for the killing of one of their members.
The officials said the Bedouin tribesmen snatched the guards on Thursday from positions along the border. Some of the
guards were in vehicles patrolling the Egypt-Israel border in the Sinai Peninsula.
The officials said the tribesmen were protesting the killing of one of their members, a smuggler, as he tried to sneak into Israel days ago.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters, said there were negotiations for the guards' release.