Egypt hands death penalty to 7 jihadists for fatal attacks

An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced to death seven members of Islamist militant group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and two to life in prison on charges of planning and executing attacks on the military, state-run media Ahramonline reported.
The attacks, known as the Arab Sharkas case, led to the death of two military officers.
The defendants' charges include planning terrorist operations, shooting at security forces and attacking military facilities. The ruling has been approved by Egypt's grand mufti, a necessary procedure in Egyptian law.
This is the first trial against the Sinai-based jihadist group, which claims to support the Islamic State (IS) group operating in Syria and Iraq.
Terrorist attacks have risen since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the army last July and the massive security crackdown on his supporters, which left about 1, 000 of them killed and thousands more arrested.
The attacks targeted security men and their premises in the restive Sinai Peninsula and then extended to hit the capital and provinces across the country.
A recent official report said the death toll from such attacks has reached nearly 500, most of whom were soldiers and policemen. The al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.