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Monday, October 09, 2017, 11:13
Egypt court for death penalty to 13 men of disbanded militant group
By Reuters
Monday, October 09, 2017, 11:13 By Reuters

A picture taken on January 14, 2016 shows a general view of the Boursa Street in the Egyptial capital Cairo. (MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP)

CAIRO - Thirteen members of disbanded militant group Ajnad Misr were sentenced to death on Sunday by a Cairo criminal court after being convicted of launching attacks on security forces, judicial sources said.

The court referred its sentencing recommendation to the country's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding but legally required opinion

Ajnad Misr, or Soldiers of Egypt, were a group that emerged in January 2014 and targeted security forces in and around the Egyptian capital.

The group's leader was killed by security forces in 2015, and many of  its remaining members are held in custody.

The court referred its sentencing recommendation to the country's top  religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding but legally required  opinion.

Once that is received, the court will then formally announce its verdict  on Dec. 7, after which time the sentence can be carried out.

Egypt is fighting an Islamist insurgency in Sinai that gained momentum  in mid-2013 when the military ousted Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi  after mass protests against his rule. Hundreds of soldiers and police have been  killed.

The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful movement but Egyptian security  forces do not differentiate between it and groups such as Ajnad Misr and Islamic  State, which has led the insurgency in recent years.

READ MORE: Egypt court sentences Mursi to 25 years in Qatar spy case

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