292 suicides referred to military court over Sinai attacks

Attorney General of the Supreme State Security Prosecution Khaled Diaa Eldin on Sunday ordered 292 terrorists to be referred to a military court.

The 292 terrorists are accused of launching several terrorist and suicide attacks mostly in North Sinai, along with plotting to assassinate President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca. 
The case gathers 22 terrorist cells of the so-called "wilayat Sinai".

As many as 158 defendants out of the 292 have been arrested and interrogated by the Supreme State Security Prosecution over one-and-a-half years .

The prosecution ordered to keep 151 defendants into custody and release seven others pending investigations over charges of taking part in 18 terror attacks, including plotting to assassinate President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The case includes another plot to assassinate President Sisi inside Egypt.

The case documents include detailed confessions of 66 defendants on all incidents, the names of the group's members, its funding resources and some of its leaders, but no one gave any information on the identity of the group's ringleader.

The incidents also include launching several terror attack on the headquarters of the battalion 101 of the Armed Forces, assassinating three judges in Arish, storming a hotel in Arish, where judges supervising the last parliamentary elections in North Sinai stayed killing two judges, four policemen and a citizen, assassinating director of Sinai roads and tourist groups securing department Lieutenant-Colonel Ibrahim Ahmed Badran Saleem and two policemen of his accompanying force.

They are also charged with killing three South Korean tourists and a driver in a suicide bombing that targeted their bus, planting explosive devices on Arish airport road to target armored vehicles of the armed forces and the police as they cross the road, bombing Arish police station using a car bomb, targeting Arish security forces administration building by a car bomb, stealing automatic weapons of the civil protection forces, assaulting and sealing the HQs of the civil protection and the Arish electricity company. 
The terror incidents also included assaulting forces stationed at Al Zohoor checkpoint in North Sinai, opening fire on several army checkpoints in the governorate, and attempting to seize two checkpoints and Sheikh Zuweid police station; a plot that was foiled and resulted in the killing of about 40 terrorists.

They also included planting explosive devices on the international coastal highway to target vehicles of the Armed Forces, and monitoring the Interior Ministry building in Cairo, the office of Military Intelligence in Ras Sidr, Abu Hammad airport in Sharqia, the embassies of Russia, France, Belgium, and Myanmar, Ras Sidr mobile power station, a security patrol in Alexandria, the Navy headquarters in Alexandria and tourist delegations in Alamein.

Salafi senior leader Yasser Borhamy was also monitored in an attempt to assassinate him.

Investigations of the Supreme State Security Prosecution and confessions of the defendants revealed that the assassination plot against President Sisi took place through two terrorist cells, one of them were operating in Saudi Arabia and were tasked to monitor the movements of the Egyptian leader in Mecca while performing Umrah.

The defendants bought some of materials used in manufacturing high explosives from a Mecca market, and stored them in the 34th floor of the clock tower hotel and monitored the helipad of the Saudi royal family at the hotel.

The plot was developed based on a belief that Sisi would stay at the hotel while performing Umrah, after the defendants monitored that a master suite was booked by a state agency there.

They plotted to carry out a suicide bombing inside the Holy Mosque during the visit of President Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef with the aim of distracting security forces and in the meantime the rest of the cell carry out the assassination of Sisi and bin Nayef.

The confessions of the defendants also revealed that another terrorist cell were operating in Egypt for the same purpose.

The cell consisted of six bearded police officers, who were dismissed later, and a dentist.

The cell plotted to assault the president's motorcade as they planned to take part in the security services involved in securing the president as central security officers.

The plot also involved assassination attempts against senior security officials, including former interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim and former assistant interior minister for the central security sector Medhat el Menshawy.

The defendants said they also plotted to announce other emirates linked with Daesh in several Egyptian governorates.

The investigation revealed that the suspects also planned to stage a military parade in Rafah and seize a number of security checkpoints there to show that they took control of the town of Rafah.

Source: MENA