CAIRO: Egyptian police shot dead two Bedouin tribesmen after they forced a road block in the Sinai Desert and led the police on a car chase, security sources said Wednesday.
Ahmad Abderrahim Salem and Khalil Salmane Hamid refused to stop at one of the many road blocks on the desert roads, said the source.
The pair also shot at police when they gave chase, said a spokesman from the interior ministry. When police fired back their car overturned, killing the driver on the spot. The passenger died in hospital from a bullet wound, said a ministry statement.
Members of their Manaiya tribe protested by burning tires at the side of the village of Mahdiya, in central Sinai, as the police sealed off the village.
Several members of the tribe are being sought for arms and drugs trafficking, said the security source.
