Bedouin tribal leaders in Egypt's Sinai peninsula have agreed to help restore security in the lawless border area with the Gaza Strip and Israel, BBC News said.

In talks with Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal al-Din, they also backed plans to destroy smuggling tunnels into Gaza. The move comes as Egyptian troops mass in the area in an operation to contain Islamist militants who have built up a presence there.

The militants are suspected of killing 16 Egyptian border guards on Sunday.

Egypt has deployed extra troops, tanks and other armoured vehicles.

It also closed the Rafah border with the Gaza Strip following the killings. The border - the only way in or out of the enclave without passing through Israel - was reopened on Friday, but only for Palestinians wishing to return to Gaza.

Also on Friday, military sources said six suspected militants had been arrested in the Sinai region. It was not immediately clear whether they were linked to the border attack.

Egypt's state-run Nile TV put the number arrested at nine.