Egypt to execute 5 extremists for killing policeman

An Egyptian court on Saturday handed death sentences to five extremists and 25-year term to two others for killing a policeman last January at a church in Giza, state-run Ahram news website reported.
Giza Criminal Court also convicted the defendants of other terrorist charges committed from October 2013 to late January 2014 against security personnel and Copts in revenge for the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in early July 2013.
"Establishing and operating a terrorist group" and "assaulting police and military personnel" were among the charges upheld by the court against the convicts.
Egypt has witnessed rising armed attacks against security personnel and premises since Morsi's removal last year and the subsequent massive security crackdown against his supporters, which left at least 1,000 killed and thousands others arrested.
Also on Saturday, militants shot dead a police recruit and injured two others in Fayoum province, south of the capital Cairo. Earlier on Tuesday six policemen were killed by an explosive device planted under their armored vehicle in North Sinai city of Rafah.
Sinai-based al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group has claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks.
The Muslim Brotherhood group, from which Morsi hailed, has been blacklisted by the Egypt's leadership as a "terrorist organization. " The group's chief Mohamed Badie has been sentenced to death more than once but the verdict has not yet been carried out. Morsi himself is currently in custody over a number of charges, including inciting the killing of protesters and leaking classified documents to Qatar.