GAZA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - At least five Palestinians were killed and four others were wounded on Tuesday when Egyptian forces blew up two smuggling tunnels beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border, medical workers and residents said.

Residents said the tunnels, used to bring goods from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, collapsed when Egyptian soldiers detonated explosives in an attempt to curb smuggling.

Egyptian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Many Gazans use tunnels to bypass an Israeli blockade that was tightened after Hamas Islamists seized the coastal strip last year.

Israeli officials have said many of the tunnels are also used by militants to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Avida Landau: Editing by Caroline Drees)

AlertNet news is provided by