EGYPT: Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Cairo, reporter arrested by security forces

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The chief of Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language bureau in the Egyptian capital has been arrested along with a reporter from the same channel, the Qatar-based news network reported early Saturday morning.

‘Egypt’s security services have arrested Al Jazeera bureau chief in Cairo Abdel Fattah Fayed and the journalist Ahmed Yousef,’ Al Jazeera said on its website.

This comes a day after a group of unidentified men stormed the Cairo offices of the pan-Arab news channel, starting a fire and smashing equipment.

Al Jazeera reportedly also said that nine of its journalists were detained on Friday amid a huge rally against President Hosni Mubarak and that its broadcast signal faced ‘unprecedented levels of interference.’

The Egyptian military has previously detained six Al Jazeera journalists, and the Egypt operations of the news network have been halted by the Egyptian information ministry. -- Alexandra Sandels in Beirut

A Lebanese activist holds a drawing of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak blocking the logo of Al Jazeera. Credit: Joseph Eid, AFP/Getty Images