EL ARISH, Egypt The police detained 500 people for questioning Monday in a search for militants in Sinai following a series of terrorist attacks in the peninsula, security officials said.
About 3,500 police officers, backed by at least 20 armored cars, took part in the operation. Some officers went from house to house in El Arish, the principal town in northeast Sinai, about 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, from the Gaza Strip. Others fanned out into the desert.
Most of the 500 were detained in El Arish, where the sweep began at dawn, said a security official speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to issue statements.
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