CAIRO: An Egyptian military court sentenced to death seven members of an Al Qaeda inspired group yesterday for carrying out deadly attacks on the army, army officials said.
Two other members of Ansar Beit Al Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) were sentenced to life in prison, which amounts to 25 years in Egypt.
The Sinai-based group has claimed some of the deadliest attacks on security forces since the ouster of president Mohamed Mursi last year as retaliation for a crackdown on Mursi’s supporters that has left hundreds dead and thousands jailed. The military court in Cairo convicted the nine militants of killing six soldiers in a March attack on an army outpost Qalubiya province, north of Cairo, army officials said.
They were also found guilty of killing two military explosive experts when a joint police-army team went to arrest them after the attack. Prior to Mursi’s overthrow, Ansar Beit Al Maqdis was known for firing rockets at Israel and attacking pipelines in Sinai that supply gas to the Jewish state.
In recent weeks, the group has claimed the beheading of men it accused of spying for the Egyptian army and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. It says it supports the Islamic State group, which has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, but has not pledged formal allegiance to it.
Meanwhile, the authorities have tightened security at leading universities across the country — the last bastions of protests backing ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after a nationwide government crackdown crushed his supporters, leaving hundreds dead and thousands jailed.
More than a dozen students were killed in the academic year that ended in April, as pro-Mursi students fought pitched battles with security forces after the Islamist was ousted in July 2013 by then-army chief and now President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
Universities echoed with slogans like “Sisi is a killer!” as pro-Mursi students threw rocks at tear-gas-firing policemen.
Today, the newly painted buildings of the prestigious Sunni Al Azhar University and Cairo University are surrounded by tall metal fences, with private security guards checking students’ identities as they pass through metal detectors.
The new security measures ban all partisan activities on campuses and university officials are allowed to expel disruptive students.
The academic year that started on October 11 has already got off to a violent start, with clashes in universities in Cairo and Alexandria. Rights group Amnesty International said Egyptian security forces used “excessive force” in quelling protests at Alexandria University, injuring dozens of protesting students. At least 110 students have also been arrested, many of them in pre-dawn raids at their homes last week, Human Rights Watch said.AFP
