Egypt refers Hezbollah case to emergency court

CAIRO, July 26 (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors have referred 26 men accused of links to Lebanon's Hezbollah to an emergency state security court on terrorism and espionage-related charges, a prosecution statement said on Sunday.

The bulk of the men "conspired... to carry out terrorist activities within Egypt," led by Hezbollah operatives Mohamed Qublan and Sami Chehab to attack "vessels passing through the Suez Canal, foreign tourists and tourist establishments", the statement said.

Hezbollah has said Sami Chehab is a member of the group who had been providing military supplies to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with the help of up to 10 others but denied targeting Egypt.

The prosecution said the men included Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese and Sudanese, and that four were not in custody. (Writing by Aziz El-Kaissouni; editing by Philippa Fletcher)