Egyptian Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat on Sunday ordered keeping 35 persons in police custody for 15 days over charges of alleged association with terrorist organizations in Syria, including the Islamic Organization in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects, mainly from Damietta, Ismailia and Sharqiya governorates, were planning for acts of terrorism in Egypt, MENA news agency reported, citing the custody order.
The detainees formed four terrorist cells. The public prosecution ordered the security services to step up efforts to arrest the remaining members of these cells, according to the report.
They admitted to having changed their original occupations to businessmen to facilitate their travel to Turkey and then to Syria in order to join the ranks of terrorist ISIL group.
They were arrested upon their return to Egypt as they were waiting orders from ISIL to carry out terrorist attacks against key military, security, judiciary and other state institutions in Egypt.
Yesterday, Spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Maj.-Gen. Hani Abdullatif the security services managed to dismantle four terrorist cells whose members received in Syria physical, mental and military training for terrorist operations in Egypt.