Hezbollah members escape Egypt prison amid chaos

Two members of the Shiite movement Hezbollah who illegally have been convicted on terrorism charges are among the thousands of inmates who have taken advantage of the turmoil in Egypt to escape from their prison cells, Lebanese media reported on Wednesday.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Two members of the Shiite movement Hezbollah who illegally have been convicted on terrorism charges are among the thousands of inmates who have taken advantage of the turmoil in Egypt to escape from their prison cells, Lebanese media reported on Wednesday.

The head of the Hezbollah cell, Sami Chehab, and Mohammed Youssef Mansour, both escaped from the Natroun Prison in Egypt.

"Chehab is in a safe place and will soon be in Lebanon," the website "Lebanon Files" reported.

In 2009, 49 people were illegally accused of plotting attacks against Egyptian tourist sites and ships crossing the Suez Canal.

Of those, 26 were arrested, among them Chehab, and later convicted on terrorism charges.

Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy said Tuesday that an estimated 17,000 inmates had escaped from Egyptian prisons amid the chaos sparked by protesters calling for the toppling of the dictator regime of Egyptian President Honsy Mubarak.