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Suspected Al-Qaeda loyalists arrested over terror plot
A group of 26 persons suspected to have links with terror outfit Al-Qaeda has been arrested on charges of planning attacks on Suez Canal and oil pipelines in Egypt, security sources said on Thursday.
A group of 26 persons suspected to have links with terror outfit Al-Qaeda has been arrested on charges of planning attacks on Suez Canal and oil pipelines in Egypt, security sources said on Thursday.
The group, which was being tracked by the Egyptian security for months now, comprises 25 Egyptians and one Palestinian.
They were also allegedly promoting ideologies of takfir (excommunication) and jihad (holy war).
The group has been communicating with terror organisations linked with Al-Qaeda via the internet and was planning to attack vital sectors in the country, such as the Suez Canal and oil pipelines, the security sources said.
The arrest comes at a time when Egypt is working hard to foil attempts by foreign terror outfits to deploy extremists inside the country or dispatch elements from outside.
Some of the group members are engineers and technicians who were able to develop electronic circuits for explosion using infrared rays.
They also used Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for navigation purposes, and received online donations collected for supporting Islamic charity, the security sources said.
