Police in Egypt say they have detained forty-three people suspected of being members of the militant Islamic group, al-Gama'a al-Islamiya or Islamic Group.

They said the men were arrested in Cairo governorate, neighbouring Qalubiya and Menufia to the north.

They said the detainees, suspected of plotting to kill senior officials, would be held for fifteen days. al-Gama'a al-Islamiya claimed responsibility for the massacre of more than fifty foreign tourists in Luxor in 1997.