Sinai , Egypt ( CNN ) -- Ten Yemeni militants infiltrated Egyptian soil two months ago and trained local Jihadi cells in the Sinai peninsula , a security official said Friday . `` Several foreign men were spotted shopping in the market by residents and we received intelligence that they were in communication with Jihadist cells in Al Mukataa , a remote area south of Sheikh Zuweid in Northern Sinai , '' said a senior security official associated with Egypt 's North Sinai 's border guards , who spoke on condition of anonymity . `` We hope to capture them in our ongoing raids . They could be hiding in Jabal-Al Halal -- a rugged mountain terrain in central Sinai . '' The Yemeni militants were smuggled into Sinai from Sudan among groups of African migrants who have been sold to Bedouin who traffic refugees into Israel for cash , said Ibrahim Al Menei , a Bedouin leader from the Swarkeh tribe who has spearheaded a committee of hundreds of men to curb the illegal trafficking of Africans through the Sinai . `` Word spread among the community that these Yemeni militants were training Jihadi cells in Sheikh Zuweid . The intelligence officers were aware of their presence , '' Menei told CNN . Salem Aneizan , another Bedouin leader , said he had also heard the militants were training Jihadis in the North . `` I hope they are not al Qaeda . Yemen is their hub , '' said Aneizan , who has been assisting the police in securing remote areas in the Sinai since an outbreak of kidnappings and attacks on security checkpoints in recent months . Last week , the Egyptian military launched `` Operation Eagle '' -- a massive offensive using Apache gunships and M-60 tanks against suspected militant Jihadi cells holed up in Sinai since unidentified masked gunmen killed 16 soldiers on August 8 in the border city of Rafah in North-Sinai . Israeli and Egyptian authorities coordinated to allow the helicopter gunships and heavy machinery into the demilitarized zone in accord with the Camp David agreement signed in 1979 . No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the attack that has gripped the nation and the international media . Six Egyptian suspects were arrested last week in Sheikh Zuweid but three were later released after questioning , according to Gen. Ahmed Bakr , head of North-Sinai security . Sinai had fallen into a state of lawlessness since the uprising that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last year . Both Israel and the United States have voiced their concern about the rise of terrorist cells in the Sinai . U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned during a visit to Egypt last month that the desert border between Israel and Egypt could become an `` operational base '' for jihadists if security is not maintained . Israel has raised concerns about the region in the wake of the fall of the Mubarak government . In an interview with CNN , Clinton said the problem was discussed at length during her meetings in Egypt and Israel . There is `` the potential of jihadists and terrorists taking up an operational base in Sinai , '' Clinton said in the interview . `` We think this is a dangerous situation for both Egypt and Israel . It is also dangerous for Americans . We have Americans who are part of the multinational force that observes the continuation of the monitoring ( of the ) Camp David Accord . We have Americans in the Sinai . We 've had a few concerns about their safety . ''
Official : 10 Yemeni militants came to Egypt two months before Rafah attack . The militants were smuggled into Sinai from Sudan among groups of African migrants . `` We hope to capture them in our raids , '' official says . - Egyptian security forces have arrested a number of suspected Islamic State members and sympathizers since the start of Egypt's military operation against IS last month.