Egypt Hangs 5 for Attempt to Kill Official, Tourist Attacks
Five Muslim extremists were hanged Saturday for attempting to assassinate Egypt’s information minister and attacking foreign tourists, the government’s Middle East News Agency reported.
The hangings brought to 14 the number of extremists executed after being convicted by military courts since October. Eight facing death sentences, including one who escaped after being convicted with the five on May 27, remain at large.
The series of executions reflects the determination of President Hosni Mubarak’s government to clamp down on religious extremists. It has rejected demands from intellectuals and moderate clerics for dialogue with radical groups seeking to replace Egypt’s secular government with an Islamic one.
About 180 people have died in 18 months of accelerated violence by members of Gamaa al Islamiya (Islamic Group), whose spiritual leader is Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman, the cleric whose followers are accused in the Feb. 26 bombing of New York’s World Trade Center.
The five executed Saturday were convicted in the April 20 ambush of Information Minister Safwat Sharif in which the minister, his driver and a bodyguard were injured.
They also were held responsible for planting bombs in public squares and in one of Giza’s three pyramids and for attacking tourist buses.
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