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Egyptian troops on alert in Sinai

Riot policemen take their positions during clashes with protesters along a road which leads to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo Egypt, early Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Police used tear gas as they clashed with a crowd protesting outside the US embassy in Cairo against a film mocking Islam. UPI/Ahmed Jomaa
Riot policemen take their positions during clashes with protesters along a road which leads to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo Egypt, early Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Police used tear gas as they clashed with a crowd protesting outside the US embassy in Cairo against a film mocking Islam. UPI/Ahmed Jomaa | License Photo

CAIRO, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Egyptian military forces in the Sinai were placed on high alert after a Salafist militant in Gaza was killed in an Israeli airstrike, Egyptian officials said.

Hisham Saidani, the founder of an al-Qaida-affiliated group in Gaza, was killed in the strike, the Ma'an News Agency reported.

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The Israeli army said Saidani was responsible for a series of attacks against Israel and was planning another attack.

Military forces, placed on high alert Sunday, were instructed to watch for cars rigged with explosives that may be detonated near Egyptian security posts in the Sinai.

Officials said they believe members of Saidani's Salafist group, the Hashura Council of the Mujahedin, may attempt to carry out attacks against Israel from the Sinai.

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