Egyptian Terror Cell Plots to Kill Israeli Ambassador

Egyptian security forces have uncovered a plot to assassinate Israel's ambassador to the country Shalom Cohen, the Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm reported on Saturday.

The would-be assassins, members of the Zeitun terror cell, had plotted since 2007 to shoot the ambassador and blow up both his home and the well-defended Israeli embassy in Cairo.

The newspaper report, which was based on Egyptian security officials, noted that Egypt's state prosecution suspects the cell of intending to target Egyptian government institutions, including police and government offices.

The revelation comes after over a year of investigative work by Egyptian security forces following the arrest of three members of the cell for a jewelry store robbery in Cairo in May 2008. The robbery was apparently meant to help pay for the operation.