Security officials began to interrogate eight men suspected of belonging to a
terrorist cell in Nasr City, the Egyptian media reported.
The suspects
are accused of possessing weapons and plotting to assassinate public figures
with the aim of overthrowing the government.
Egyptian police killed one
terror suspect and arrested eight others during a raid last Wednesday on an
apartment in Nasr City, east of Cairo.
Security forces suspect that the
alleged terrorist cell planned to attack Egypt’s interior ministry in Cairo and
to assassinate political figures, according to Egyptian media
reports.
The terror suspect, who died in the attack, allegedly tried to
throw a bomb at police, which detonated in the apartment, killing him, al-Ahram
newspaper reported.
Also on Wednesday the London-based al-Hayat newspaper
reported that Egyptian security authorities have also arrested jihadist leader
Adel Awad Shehto on charges of founding the Nasr City terror
cell.
Al-Hayat cited Shehto’s attorney, Magdy Salem, saying that a former
army officer, Tarek Abul Azm, was also arrested.
Yasser Ali, a spokesman
for president Mohamed Morsi, announced on Wednesday that security officials
would report more information when the investigation into the cell is
completed.
According to Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm, the FBI
assisted Egyptian security officials in uncovering the cell, allegedly involved
in last month’s terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in
which the ambassador, Chris Stevens, and three other Americans were
killed.
The raided apartment contained a massive weapons cache, including
explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition, the Egyptian media cited
security sources as saying.
Some Egyptian newspapers also reported
Thursday that security officials have denied reports that Egypt has arrested an
armed terrorist cell in Sinai that planned to carry out attacks against tourist
facilities in Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab.
Egypt’s al-Wafd news site said
that Gen. Magdy Moussa, director of criminal investigations in the south Sinai
security directorate, said that Egyptian police were in full control of south
Sinai.
Also on Thursday, the London- based Arabic newspaper al-Sharq
al-Awsat reported that an unnamed Egyptian security source had confirmed
Egyptian media reports that residents had discovered an “explosive belt” on
Tuesday in the northern Sinai city of Rafah on Egypt’s Gaza border.
The source
said the belt was found next to a large quantity of explosives, and security
sources believed that jihadist elements active in Sinai had been transporting it
from Gaza, but had discarded it fearing that security officers present in the
area would apprehend them, al- Sharq al-Awsat reported.
According to the
same report, the source added that Egyptian police, civil defense and explosives
experts had cordoned off the area where the explosive belt was
found.
Security officers are still combing the area for additional
explosives.