Documents reveal ex-official in plots to target churches

CAIRO – 2 January 2018: Egyptian security forces found documents that prove the involvement of former official Yehya Mousa, who was part of the ousted President Mohammed Morsi’s Government, in supporting and funding terrorist elements, sources revealed.

The documents revealed that ex-official Mousa planned to target a number of churches in Cairo during Christmas festivities. The documents were found in possession of extremists from the militant group Hasm, when troops raided their hotbeds near Giza.

Yehya el-Sayed Ibrahim, known as Yehya Mousa, held the position of spokesman of the Ministry of Health During Morsi’s Presidency. Mousa, who is wanted by security forces, was also in charge of assassinating the late General Prosecutor, Hisham Barakat.

The documents disclosed how Mousa, the fugitive terrorist planner, stressed on targeting churches, especially during festivals to maximize the number of casualties.

Mousa also provided terrorists with a large amount of explosives and weapons needed to implement his plans. However, security bodies thwarted these schemes, killing three leaders of the group and arresting ten others during security operations in Giza, Fayoum and Qalubeya.

According to investigations, Mousa was involved in preparing the terrorist Mahmoud Shafiq who bombed Cairo’s Patriarchal Church in 2016. Mousa was also in charge of the bombing of Saint George's Church in Tanta and Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria in April 2017. The three terrorist incidents killed dozens of victims.

Security information revealed that Mousa coordinated with a number of terrorist groups to assassinate a number of officials and bomb several of the state’s vital institutions, aiming to damage Egypt’s economy.

All these accusations showed Mousa as the mastermind training suicide bombers and spawning terrorists during the past months. Mousa, who has fled to Turkey, is currently wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).

After the June 30 Revolution, which toppled the Muslim Brotherhood, Mousa fled to Turkey; he is wanted for investigations in a number of cases related to inciting violence and insurgency and to attacking state institutions.

On December 29, 2017, the Coptic church of the Great Martyr Mina in Helwan, a suburb of Cairo, was attacked. The attack claimed the lives of ten civilians, and one police conscript, and left four citizens wounded. A gunman exchanged fire with police after he tried to break through the security fence barricading the church.

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack without providing evidence for the claim, while Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar issued directives to security officials to raise the security alert to the maximum level across the country after the attack.

In December 2016, in Cairo, there was a bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral, killing at least 25 people.

On April 9, 2017, two explosions targeted churches in Tanta, north of Cairo, and Alexandria during Palm Sunday services, leaving at least 44 dead and over 70 injured.