240 Arrested in Sweep of Suspected Activists

Egypt has arrested 240 people it says are linked to an outlawed Islamic group, in the largest crackdown on suspected Muslim activists in more than a year. The Interior Ministry said authorities were questioning 200 members of the Kotbioun, which it said was a violent branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest Islamic group. The other 40 were attached to the Brotherhood’s secret political cells, it said. Six from that group were released. The arrests were first reported by Al Ahram, Egypt’s leading daily. The Kotbioun, which means “supporters of Kotb,” is named for Brotherhood leader Sayed Kotb, who was executed in 1966 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government. The Brotherhood denied any link with the Kotbioun.