CAIRO - Egyptian authorities arrested an Islamist militant on Sunday, saying he was close to the brother of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri and had supplied arms to supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, according to security sources.
Daoud Khairat was arrested in Cairo's Nasr City district, where police broke up a pro-Morsi protest vigil on Aug. 14 in a bloody crackdown on the Islamist president's Muslim Brotherhood. At least five other Islamist militants were detained elsewhere.
The security sources said the authorities accused Khairat of arming pro-Morsi demonstrators and described him as the "right-hand man" of Mohamed al-Zawahri, the a-Qaida leader's brother who was himself arrested in Egypt on Aug. 17.
The Brotherhood denies using firearms and says it is a peaceful movement with no links to the jihadi al-Qaida.
