Egypt on Thursday denied it was mistreating Syrian refugees following a report by Amnesty International accusing authorities of unlawfully detaining and deporting hundreds of Syrians fleeing civil war.

In a statement, Egypt's foreign ministry said the content of Amnesty's report was "inaccurate and does not reflect the reality of their situation in the country."

Amnesty International accused Egypt Thursday of unlawfully detaining and deporting hundreds of Syrian refugees, many of them women and children fleeing civil war at home.

"Instead of offering vital help and support to refugees from Syria, the Egyptian authorities are arresting and deporting them, flouting human rights standards," Sherif Elsayed Ali, Amnesty's head of refugee and migrants' rights said in a statement.

Egypt's foreign minister acknowledged in comments published Wednesday that relations with Washington were in a "delicate" phase after it suspended some military aid in response to a July 3 coup.

Nabil Fahmy said the U.S. administration had overestimated the amount of leverage that its aid dollars bought it over the policies of the interim government installed by the army after it overthrew elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Dutch charter airline Transavia has cancelled flights to the popular Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the restive Sinai peninsula because of a security threat, it said Wednesday.

Transavia declined to say what the specific threat was, but state broadcaster NOS said it was of a possible rocket attack from militants in the Sinai.

Muslims across Egypt offered prayers at local mosques early Tuesday to mark Eid al-Adha, as security forces shut down key public squares that have seen mass protests, including Cairo's Tahrir Square.

In the east of the capital, interim president Adly Mansour and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led worshipers at an air force mosque, state television said.

Egyptian security forces used live ammunition on October 6 to disperse supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi who were also attacked by men with firearms and swords, Amnesty International said Monday.

At least 49 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Cairo alone as security forces used "excessive and unwarranted lethal force" to disperse pro-Morsi crowds, said the human rights watchdog.

Egyptian authorities freed Monday a Briton who was arrested in the restive north Sinai town of El-Arish for possessing clothes similar to police uniforms, state media reported.

The Briton, who was not identified, was released on the orders of the general prosecution of El-Arish, said the official MENA news agency.

An American detained in Egypt for more than a month was found hanged in his prison cell on Sunday after committing suicide, security officials said.

They said the body of James Henry, 55, who told authorities he was a "retired officer", was found at noon at Ismailiya Awal police station.

An Egyptian army MiG-21 aircraft crashed Sunday near the southern city of Luxor, leaving one person dead and three others injured on the ground after the crew ejected, officials said.

The Russian-built MiG was conducting a routine training flight when it caught fire shortly after takeoff from a military airport in Luxor.

Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on Friday said moderate Islamists in Egypt and Tunisia were in part responsible for their recent political setbacks, accusing them of having been too conciliatory.

A 16-minute audiotape of Zawahiri released on jihadist forums focused on his native Egypt, where he said military-backed authorities were waging war on Islam at the behest of Israel and the United States.