The General Prosecution referred 13 alleged members of militant organisation Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis to the Cairo Criminal Court.
(Screenshot from ABM video)
They were accused of the killing of two policemen on the Cairo-Suez Desert Road, among other charges.
Prosecution investigations revealed that the defendants admitted targeting a police checkpoint on the Cairo-Suez Desert Road, and attacked it using machine guns. The deaths of police officer Ashraf Badr and policeman Alaa Abdelsabour and the attempt to kill policeman Yahya Abdelnaby occurred during the attack, according to state-run news agency MENA.
Charges listed against the defendants by the prosecution include joining a banned organisation, wilful and attempted murder, possessing unlicensed weapons and ammunition, and theft.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis came onto the scene after the 25 January revolution, and has been active mainly in Sinai. The group pledged loyalty to militant group ISIS, and rebranded itself as “State of Sinai” in November 2014.
Egyptian security forces have been cracking down heavily on the insurgency in Sinai since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for several of fatal attacks on security facilities and personnel.
