ALEXANDRIA, 27 August 2005 (DailyNews):- Ayman Nur, the main challenger to veteran President Hosni Mubarak in next month's first contested election, is waging an aggressive campaign against his rival never before seen in Egyptian politics.

The 77-year-old leader is widely expected to win a fifth term on September 7 but Nur is determined to spoil the party and his fire-and-brimstone speeches appear to be catching on.

"If free and fair elections are held, Mubarak won't get more than 10 per cent to 15pc of the vote," said Nur, the leader of the Ghad (Tomorrow) party who claims to represent the reformist camp.

"If there is massive fraud, we shall respond accordingly and people are no longer afraid to speak out and take to the streets," he said on the campaign trail in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

While many see Numan Gumaa, who chairs the liberal Wafd party, as a token opposition candidate and few take the other eight contenders seriously, Nur has been criss-crossing the country since the start of the campaign on August 17.

He is currently on trial on what he says are trumped up charges of forgery aimed at discrediting his campaign. The next hearing is set for September 25.

lPolice have withdrawn their forces from a Sinai mountain range where a land mine killed two senior officers during a search for Islamic militants, security officials said.