Mystery over death of Egyptian security officer

The circumstances surrounding the death of an Egyptian security officer along the Gaza border have become murkier.

An Egyptian doctor who examined the body says it showed signs of torture, and Israeli officials say it may have been run over by a vehicle.

The death comes at a time of increased tension between Egypt and Israel in the wake of nine months of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. The Egyptian government have sided with the Palestinians, blaming the Israelis for the violence.

With Friday's death of El-Sayed el-Ghareeb Mohamed Ahmed, a border guard in his 20s, Egyptians say the violence reached across the border to hit one of their own.

Egyptian security officials initially said that Israeli gunfire from the Gaza Strip killed Mr Ahmed, who they first identified as a police officer. They did not say how it was clear the fire came from Israeli forces on the Gaza side of Rafah, a town split by the border.

An Egyptian doctor who examined Mr Ahmed's body at Rafah Central Hospital says preliminary investigations showed several gunshot wounds to his head and bruises to his body, indicating that he may have "suffered torture". The doctor also said he had been stabbed with a "sharp weapon".

The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity, apparently fearful of angering Egyptian security officials who have ordered the local media not to report on the death.

Police spokesman for southern Israel, Yossi Koppel, says the body showed signs of having been run over.

A spokesman for the Israeli army says the dead man was found by a routine army patrol near the border village of Nitzana, 30 miles south-east of the Gaza Strip, early on Friday morning by a routine army patrol. Officials say it isn't clear how the body came to be in Israel.

There had been trouble in the Rafah area on Friday, with the Israeli military in Jerusalem saying Palestinians had thrown five hand grenades at an Israeli army post on the Gaza side of the border. Israeli forces returned fire.