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Twenty two suspected terrorists arrested in Cairo

Apr 19, 2006, 16:55 GMT


Cairo - Egyptian security forces arrested twenty two people in Cairo Wednesday on suspicion of membership of an underground terrorist organization. Ministry of interior sources said that an investigation conducted over a period of several months lead security forces to uncover a terrorist network, calling itself Al-Taefa Al-Mansour (The Victorious Sect) that was allegedly planning operations in Egypt.


Egyptian security authorities said that the 22 suspects included the organization's leader, Ahmad Mohammad Ali Gabr (alias -Abu Musaab) and his deputy Ahmad Mohammad Basyouni (alias - Abu Bakr Al Misri). The group operated on Salafist (puritanical extremist) Takfiri (excommunication) doctrines and was reportedly planning operations including the targeting of tourists as well as gas pipelines around Greater Cairo. Other targets were said to include Moslem and Christian clerics along with, what the organization is said to have described as, morally corrupt youth.


According to the Ministry of Interior's announcements, Al-Taefa Al-Mansoura was preparing bombs based on explosive-making manuals from internet sites. The organization was also said to have sought the purchase of land in the Giza Governorate on which it was intended to establish a training camp. The organization's funding reportedly came from private donations, monthly membership fees, and alms collected from mosques.


Al Taefa Al Mansoura is also said to have recruited religious youth by indoctrinating them with Jihadi beliefs after which members of the organization were given codenames. The organization is accused of having links with foreign extremist groupings, and it is claimed that members of Al Taefa Al Mansoura were sent for training abroad in Jihadi camps.


Computer devices, CDs, explosive-making and poison-making manuals, along with operation plans were reportedly discovered at the organization's hideouts. The prosecutor's office is currently investigating the evidence against the twenty two suspects.


© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur