Court designates Ajnad Misr as terrorist group

The Islamist militant group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) was declared a terrorist organization by the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters on Thursday, reported the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The ruling was issued in a case filed by a human rights organization against Ajnad Misr after it claimed responsibility for several attacks on police forces this year.

The courts have issued a string of terrorist designations over the past six months, starting with the Muslim Brotherhood in December, followed by the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes in April and the Gaza-based Hamas group in the beginning of May.

Among the attacks allegedly perpetrated by Ajnad Misr was a series of bombings in front of Cairo University on April 2 that left one officer dead and injured at least five others.

In a statement, Ajnad Misr claimed that the deceased officer, Tarek al-Mergawy, was part of the task force responsible for the bloody dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya protest camp in August, which claimed over 1,000 lives.

The attack was part of the so-called “Vengeance is Life” offensive organized by the militant group, according to its statement, as well as a string of bombings in Cairo that occurred on January 24, just one day before the third anniversary of January 25 revolution.

While Ansar Beit al-Maqdes had claimed responsibility for bombing the Cairo Security Directorate that morning, Ajnad Misr said its group had carried out bombings in front of the Behooth metro station and Al-Talbeya police station in Giza later the same day.

The close timing of the attacks led some to draw connections between the two organizations, as well as with the Muslim Brotherhood, though the Brotherhood denied any allegiance with the militant groups and issued statements condemning their actions.