Hamas has accused Egypt of torturing members of the group who were detained after crossing from the Gaza Strip.

A Hamas spokesman said security forces had demanded to know about Hamas leaders' movements and the location of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The questions had nothing to do with the security of Egypt, he added.

Hamas says 39 of its members are being held in Egypt, while 90 others have been released in recent weeks.

Most entered the country in January when hundreds of thousands of besieged Gazans crossed into Egypt after militants breached its border wall near Rafah.

There has been no comment about the Hamas claims from the Egyptian authorities, who have been discussing the fate of the prisoners at meetings with Hamas representatives in the Sinai town of el-Arish.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Egyptian soldiers install a wire fence to close a section of the border between the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah and Egypt, in January 2008.

BBC