At least eight dead after Egyptian helicopter gunship attacks

Egyptian helicopter gunships killed at least eight suspected militants in the restive north Sinai region yesterday, as authorities stepped up their fight against Islamists following the removal of Mohamed Morsi as president.

Separately, a military court in the port city of Suez sentenced a member of the Muslim Brotherhood to life in prison for attacking armed forces personnel, while 51 others received sentences ranging from five to 15 years.

Details of the sentences were given by military spokesman Ahmed Ali in comments posted on his official Facebook page.

Earlier, state media reported that 11 members of the Brotherhood had been sentenced to life in prison, and no explanation was given for the changed number. The sentences dealt another blow to the Islamist group that backed Mr Morsi as it faces the toughest crackdown against it in decades.

The group planned to hold rallies yesterday marking two months after what it describes as the military “coup” that deposed the country’s first freely elected civilian president. By late afternoon only small rallies of dozens of people had gathered in parts of Cairo and nearby Giza, the state-run Middle East News Agency said.

Press ahead
The interim government, backed by the military, has vowed to press ahead with a transition to democracy while the Islamists argue Mr Morsi's overthrow robbed Egyptians of their hopes for a democratic state. Mr Morsi is to stand trial on charges of inciting violence that led to protesters's deaths.

Since his removal as president, the military has stepped up its efforts in Sinai, a desert peninsula that grew increasingly lawless during his tenure. The attacks intensified after Mr Morsi’s removal, with militants striking almost daily at security forces, police stations and other installations in an eruption of violence that included the killing of 25 policemen last month.

The man allegedly behind the attack, Adel Habara, was arrested and ordered jailed for 15 days pending investigations, the prosecutor-general’s office said in a faxed statement. The Apache helicopter strike targeted suspected militants, said Mohamed Saeed, head of criminal investigation in the region.

Assault
The military said the assault left 20 "terrorists" dead or wounded in strikes on the villages of al-Toma and al-Mokati'a. Another strike destroyed a vehicle carrying three fleeing armed militants, the military said.

In tandem with its offensive in Sinai, the government has pushed ahead with a campaign against the Brotherhood, arresting hundreds of its members, including top leaders.

The declaration of a state of emergency last month, a curfew that has been gradually relaxed, and stepped-up efforts by security forces have curbed the Brotherhood’s ability to draw the masses it mustered for earlier demonstrations.

Officials have also put Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television in its sights. A Cairo administrative court ordered the station’s local affiliate off the air yesterday, along with three other channels authorities said were “fabricating information” and “defaming” the will of Egyptians by saying Morsi’s removal was a coup, the court said. – (Bloomberg)