Court to issue verdict in Ansar Beit El-Maqdis case Monday

CAIRO- 1 September 2019: Cairo Criminal Court is set to issue its verdict on Monday in the case of 213 defendants of Ansar Beit El Maqdis terrorist group charged with involvement in 54 terrorist crimes against Egyptian police troops and security premises.

The crimes committed by the defendants include a failed assassination attempt against former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim, the murder of a number of police officers and attacks on security facilities, including the security directorates of Cairo, Dakahlia and South Sinai.

Investigations revealed that the defendants were trained in the camps of Ezzel Din el Qassam, the military wing of Palestinian movement Hamas and that they plotted to target ships transiting the Suez Canal.

They also face charges of joining a terrorist group aiming at disrupting national security, collaborating with a foreign organization represented in Hamas to sabotage State institutions, illegal possession of arms and ammunition and premeditated murder.

The 54 terrorist crimes the defendants are implicated in had left 42 policemen and 15 civilians dead and 349 others wounded.

Ansar Beit El Maqdis has claimed responsibility for most of the major attacks against security forces and their installations, with the deadliest assaults took place in Sina