me 52 members of eight terrorist cells have been arrested in Egypt as a crackdown on Islamists continues, the interior ministry revealed in a statement Saturday.
The ministry said the cells targeted infrastructure such as railways, public transportation, and electric pylons and stations. The cells also, according to the statement, planted explosive devices in crowded areas to terrify citizens.
The 52 were arrested in Giza, Minya, Daqahliya, Alexandria, Fayoum and Sharqiya governorates.
The ministry has previously announced the arrest of terrorist cell members operating inside the country.
Police and army personnel have been the target of militant attacks since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, increasingly after the bloody forced dispersal of pro-Morsi sit-ins last August. Over 500 police and army troops have been killed since the insurgency began.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, accused by authorities of orchestrating the terrorist attacks, has repeatedly denied involvement. Many of the group’s supporters, however, as well as other Islamists have been arrested on violence-related accusations.
Sinai’s Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has often claimed responsibility for terrorist attacks, both in the Sinai Peninsula and across the country.
Source : Ahram online
