Egypt police hunt Qaeda suspects in Sinai

CAIRO, Sep 1 (Reuters) Egyptian police are searching for five suspected al Qaeda militants in Sinai, security sources said.

Police said they had identified the five suspects, and that they were all Egyptian. Egypt's interior ministry had no details.

Security has been tightened in both north and south Sinai and at the entrances and exits of towns. Police have distributed photographs of the suspects to checkpoints and police stations, the sources said.

Egyptian police have concentrated on the Sinai area in its hunt for Islamic militants it suspects of involvement in bomb attacks targeting tourist resorts in recent years.

Both police and suspected militants have died in pitched gun battles in the vast mountainous region.

REUTERS BDP RK1920