Militant tells of knife attack

Cairo - A Muslim militant who stabbed the Egyptian Nobel prize-winning author, Naguib Mahfouz, told police his comrades wanted to shoot the writer but could not because of crowds.

Nagi Mohammed Mustafa, who police say belongs to the militant Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), confessed that the group hired a hitman to shoot Mahfouz on Friday but when Mustafa and an accomplice patrolled the area, they realised there were too many people around. Mustafa then stabbed Mr Mahfouz. Reuter