(AFP PHOTO/AHMED TARANA)
By Maha AbdelAzim
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdas (Supporters of Jerusalem) released a statement on Tuesday claiming responsibility for the assassination of head of the Minister of Interior’s technical office, Mohamed Al-Saied, who was shot by unknown militants on Tuesday in Al-Haram Street in Giza.
Sergeant Mohamed Taha Sayed was also shot dead on Tuesday in front of a church in 6th October City, where two of the gunmen who attacked the church were apprehended by security officials.
Official spokesperson for the armed forces Ahmed Ali released a statement Tuesday accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of being responsible for both “terrorist attacks”, stating that the armed forces “deplore the terrorist organisation’s attempts to target places of worship.”
He added that the military and police reaffirm their commitment to the Egyptian people of eradicating terrorism.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis released another statement on Tuesday claiming responsibility for bombing the gas pipeline in North Sinai between Egypt, Jordan and Israel, and announcing that they would escalate their “economic warfare” on the regime.
The pipeline has been subject to multiple attacks, including one in November through remote-controlled bombs, which forced the pipeline to shut down, and an attack on a Sinai pipeline in January which officials denied supplied natural gas to Jordan.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a Sinai based militant group, has taken responsibility for a variety of attacks, including the four bombings that occurred in greater Cairo on Friday, one of which targeted the Cairo Security Directorate, and the shooting down of a military helicopter in North Sinai on Saturday.
The militant group has taken responsibility for these attacks through statements that have been released on different online forums and anonymous videos of the attacks.
Ahmed Ali also announced on Wednesday that the armed forces killed two “highly dangerous terrorist agents” and bombed the houses of two others in an air strike in North Sinai.
One house belonged to “Morsi Al-Joker”, who was allegedly involved in shooting down the military helicopter on Friday. The other house, which was vacant when the bombing occurred, belonged to Ayesh El-Wahshy, who allegedly used it to harbour other militants and store arms, ammunition and explosives.
