Seven men have been sentenced to death and two others to life imprisonment on Tuesday by a military court on charges relating to a March raid that resulted in the death of five suspected militants and two army officers.
The raid, which took place days after an attack on a Qaliubiya checkpoint killed six army officers, yielded the discovery of a number of barrels of high explosives.
Four men were arrested during the March raid. The men were also charged with the assassination of a high ranking interior ministry official in Cairo in January.
The seven defendants sentenced to death were convicted of the murder of armed forces personnel, possession of weapons, resisting authorities, and involvement with the militant organisation Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against security personnel since Mohamed Morsi was ousted on 3 July 2013. The group, based in the desolate and troubled Sinai Peninsula, has been a frequent target of military attacks that seek to stifle the group’s deadly onslaught against security forces.
