Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said 312 terrorist cells have been apprehended by security since January 2014.
Speaking in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Ibrahim said the fact is proof that all movements by terrorist elements are now under the ministry’s watch.
“Soon, we will declare Sinai terrorist-free; terrorism in Sinai is dying,” the minister said, labelling roadside bombings that target police and army vehicles in the peninsula as “desperate attempts as they are fed up with security persecution.”
The minister, however, declined to set a time by which terrorism can be entirely eliminated, describing the suggestion as “impossible.”
Ibrahim denied the existence of elements belonging to Islamic State fighters in Egypt. “Those arrested recently were people who had moved to Syria, and had attended mental and military training before taking part in operations against the Syrian army.”
He added that other individuals who had left the country before June 2013 have been arrested in Damietta, waiting for directives to carry out sabotage operations in Egypt.
When asked whether Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis was involved in the 24 October attack in North Sinai that killed 34 soldiers, the minister said “though it is possible that the group had links to the attack, that assault had been carried out with foreign support. Investigations pointed to strong evidence that the perpetrators had entered to Sinai through underground tunnels.”
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the majority of bloody attacks against police and army forces since July 2013, along with the attempted assassination of Ibrahim himself last year.
Regarding Ansar’s reported declaration of allegiance to Islamic State, which it denied later, Ibrahim said though his ministry deals with such statements “with utmost seriousness,” he believes such clashing statements are indicative of “an obvious division among extremist groups.”
Speaking of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim said the ministry has information about “Brotherhood plots that seek to hinder Egyptian’s path to parliamentary elections,” stressing, at the same time, that the security situation allows the elections to be held. He accused the Brotherhood of being behind attacks in Cairo and governorates (other than the Sinai Peninsula). “The information we have indicate that foreign entities are supporting those terrorist operations,” the minister added.
The minister rejected accusations that the ministry fails to provide enough security to its personnel as the number of officers killed since 2013 reached more than 500. “That’s untrue, I try by all means to provide security for the officers. It is impossible to assign an officer to secure every single personnel… The Interior Ministry never forgets about its sons, and it continues to give social care for the families of the fallen officers,” he said.
Ibrahim reiterated that torture is never practiced against prisoners. “Any prisoner who is subjected to torture should submit an immediate complaint. Any complaints about policemen violations are investigated, and there are human rights officers inside police stations to detect any violations,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
