How Egyptian police major died to save innocent lives

CAIRO – 6 January 2019: While dwellers of Nasr City's Ezbet al-Hagana in Cairo resorted to their warm homes, a police major and a number of security personnel had a race against time to diffuse three explosive devices atop a building in the district.

Muslim imam of Al-Haq mosque in Nasr City called the police immediately after he discovered there are improvised explosive devices implanted on the roof of a property, which might be used against the Copts at Christmas celebrations, a source said.

A security force arrived in the scene and worked to diffuse the three explosive devices they found. However, one of the devices detonated, killing Major Mostafa Ebeid and injuring two policemen.

The security force managed to neutralize the rest of the devices and subsequently combed the area for more devices.

The death scene of Ebeid while trying to diffuse explosives to save the lives of many citizens in the region is very similar to the death of Lieutenant Colonel Diaa Fattouh, while trying to dismantle an explosive device on the roof of a property in the vicinity of the Talbia police station in 2017.

Egypt's Al-Azhar said in a statement on Saturday that targeting places of worship and killing innocent people is a criminal act that violates the teachings of Islam and the teachings of all religions.

Grand Mufti Shawki Allam urged all Egyptians to close ranks in the face of terrorist groups which seek to destabilize the country.

He underlined that Islam allows Christians to practice their rituals and ensured safety of their churches.

Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa hailed the bravery of the police officer who was killed while trying to foil the terrorist attempt.

The Orthodox Church and Pope Tawadros II also mourned the “brave” police officer.

Tarek al-Bashbishi, the Brotherhood's dissident leader, said that Egyptian officers and police are making costly sacrifices to preserve security and stability in the country. The martyrdom of Ebeid is the biggest evidence, he said.

Bashbishi said that this crime illustrates the despicable nature of these cowards who implanted these bombs to turn the Egyptians' holidays into mourns.