...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...-bound flight from Sudan that he was on made an emergency landing in Egypt.
The Interior Ministry says in a statement that a man, identified as Hossam Menoufy, was arrested earlier in the week, but doesn’t provide further details.
A man with that name is known to be a member of HASM,
.... also in our archives as Hasem and Hasam (Hands of Egypt, or possibly Decisiveness). One of the the NeverSisi militant arms of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, their preferred targets are Christians and soldiers/police in the Cairo area. It sprang into existence, fully formed, in 2016, inheriting personnel from previous MB armed factions and apparently organized by Mohammed Kamel, who was responsible for MB special cells until he was killed by security forces in a hail of gunfire about the time Hasm appeared... ...
a group previously implicated in several deadly holy warrior attacks in Egypt. Authorities also say that HASM was responsible for a boom-mobileing outside an Egyptian hospital that killed 20 people in 2019.HASM, which the United States designated a terrorist group in 2018, is considered to be a splinter of the Moslem Brüderbund group. Egypt has long banned and declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
Egypt has been waging a campaign against the Brotherhood since the country’s military in 2013 removed President Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the group, after massive protests against his rule. Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, thousands of Brotherhood members but also other Islamists and many secular dissidents have been tossed in the clink
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
. al-Sissi’s government has also continued to fight Islamic gunnies in the Sinai Peninsula.
Menoufy was sentenced in absentia in 2017 to life in prison, along with hundreds of others, for alleged involvement in the attempted liquidation of a top judiciary official, according to the government-run al-Akhbar al-Youm newspaper.
HASM also grabbed credit for the attack that killed an Egyptian National Security Agency officer and an attack that attempted to kill Egypt’s former top religious leader, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa.
| Al Ahram adds: |
The Hasm member was on Flight J4690 which had to make an emergency landing in Upper Egypt's Luxor because of a smoke alarm from the cargo compartment, the flight operator, Sudan's privately owned Badr Airlines, said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement added that in such cases the plane must make an emergency landing in the nearest airport in compliance with the aviation laws, saying "the landing was performed seamlessly at Luxor International Airport in Egypt."
The plane was inspected, the company said, adding that the smoke warning was found to be false and therefore it sent the plane for maintenance in Bratislava, Slovakia, to adjust the alarm system, flying an alternative plane for the passengers to continue the trip.
As per aviation laws, embarking on another plane makes the Egyptian authorities part of the process. Hence, the passenger was arrested, the company added.
Badr Airline asserted that it "has no connection with the actions taken by the Egyptian authorities [against the passenger], and that this does not fall within its responsibility."
The company is not aware of the reasons behind the arrest, the statement concluded.
Egyptian security forces have arrested and killed dozens of members of the terrorist group, which is placed on the terror list of Egypt, the UK, and the US.
The Egyptian authorities has tied the group to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
Turkey, whose government was a close ally to Hasm, has harboured several Muslim Brotherhood members after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 30 June 2013, which led to the deterioration of relations between Egypt and Turkey.
Related:
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2017-01-19 300 members of Hasm militant group referred to military prosecution
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2016-08-07 Group linked to Egypt Brotherhood says behind mufti’s killing attempt
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2013-12-17 God supports those who will vote for the constitution: former grand mufti
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2017-01-19 300 members of Hasm militant group referred to military prosecution
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2016-08-07 Group linked to Egypt Brotherhood says behind mufti’s killing attempt
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa: 2013-12-17 God supports those who will vote for the constitution: former grand mufti
