Egypt sentences 14 to death for 2011 Sinai attacks
The convicted men, to be hung, are members of an al-Qaida affiliated group
An Egyptian court sentenced 14 Islamists to death Monday for killing four police and military officers, along with one civilian, in a series of attacks carried out in June and July 2011 that saw assaults on an el-Arish police station and a Bank of Alexandria branch in northern Sinai.
According to a Reuters report, the 14 convicted terrorists are to be hanged, and another four suspects in the case were sentenced to life in prison. The men belong to the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad terrorist group.
After hearing the sentences, the defendants shouted “God is great” and cursed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, whom they called an infidel, Reuters reported.
In August, the Ismailiya Criminal Court sentenced another batch of 14 suspects to death in the case.
Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad is believed to be behind many of the terror attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, including the 2006 series of bombs in Dahab that killed more than 20 people.
