Cairo: Egyptian police have arrested four Islamist militants accused of recruiting youths to fight for Daesh, the Mena state news agency said.
Mena reported that the men were arrested in the Mediterranean city of Port Saeed on Sunday and confessed to being part of an eight-strong cell, with the four remaining members currently in Syria.
The men are being held pending investigation, Mena added.
Daesh, which has declared a cross-border caliphate in Iraq and Syria, has attracted a following among Egyptian Islamists on social media sites. Egyptian security sources estimate that up to 8,000 Egyptians are fighting abroad with militant groups such as Daesh and Al Qaida.
Daesh, an offshoot of Al Qaida, recently urged Egyptian militants to press ahead with attacks on security forces and beheadings.
Militants in Sinai have killed scores of police and soldiers over the past year.
Daesh, made up of Iraqis, other Arabs and foreign fighters, has been coaching members of the Sinai-based Ansar Bait Al Maqdis group on how to operate more effectively, a senior Ansar commander said in September.
