Oil Tanker in Suez Canal
Oil Tanker in Suez CanalReuters

Egyptian officials said Wednesday they foiled a "terrorist plot" targeting vessels using the Suez Canal.

The alleged plot was masterminded by a resident of the Canal city of Ismailia, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

According to unidentified security sources, Sulaiman Rezq allegedly sought to recruit some relatives in "carrying out the hostile act with the aim of harming the country's economic resources."

The MENA report also said Rezq had persuaded another person, identified as Salama Ahmad, of collaborating with him.

The source did not clearly identify the nationalities of the two men. Their names, however, appear to be Egyptian in origin.

They were both arrested before they could attack any ship, reported the agency.

Prosecutors ordered them be remanded for two weeks pending questioning, added MENA.

The Suez Canal is a key earner for Egypt's national economy, which has been hard hit due to a sharp drop in revenues from tourism and a series of labour strikes following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak last year.