Al Jazeera says Cairo office destroyed by 'thugs'

The Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera said on Friday that its office in Egypt's capital Cairo had been burned and destroyed by "gangs of thugs". The news channel, ordered by Egyptian authorities earlier this week to stop operations in the country, accused the government or its supporters of trying to thwart its coverage of political unrest in Egypt.

"The Al Jazeera Network has reported that its office in Cairo has been stormed by gangs of thugs. The office has been burned along with the equipment inside it," the channel said in a statement. "It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera's coverage of events in the country."

The channel said later on Friday that its Cairo bureau chief Abdelfattah Fayed and another journalist had been detained by police. On Jan 30, the Egyptian government said it had suspended Al Jazeera's operations, accusing it of false and exaggerated reporting of the unrest, cancelling its licences and the accreditation of all staff. But Al Jazeera continues to operate in Egypt and can be seen by ordinary Egyptians via satellite feeds.