Egypt charges 40 over allegedly being Daesh members

By AP - May 03,2015 - Last updated at May 03,2015

CAIRO — A Nile Delta prosecutor said Sunday he referred 40 people to trial on charges of belonging to Daesh terror group and planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt.

The announcement marks the first time people in Egypt's Nile Delta have been accused of belonging to the group, which holds a third of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate.

Bilal Abu Khadra, a prosecutor in Egypt's Sharqiya province, said that those charged communicated with Daesh militants in Syria. He also said the cell's leader confessed to receiving money from the extremists to recruit and help militants travel to Syria.

Khadra said 20 of the defendants are detained, while the others will be tried in absentia.

The Daesh group gained a foothold in Egypt last November when a Sinai-based militant group declared itself an affiliate of the extremists.

Amid the burgeoning Islamist insurgency in Egypt, thousands have been arrested in the course of a sweeping crackdown on Islamists since the military's 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

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Egypt puts over 200 on trial, accused of militant activity

Mar 05,2015

An Egyptian court opened the trial on Thursday of 213 suspected militants, including members of the army and police, on charges of joining Egypt's most active militant group and attempting to assassinate the interior minister, judicial sources said.