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2nd LD: Egypt court lists Hamas armed wing as terrorist group

Xinhua, January 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

An Egyptian court on Saturday banned al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas and listed it as a terrorist organization.

"The court decided to ban the al-Qassam Brigades and to list it as a terrorist group," said a judiciary official of the Cairo Urgent Matters Court.

The ruling came two days after a series of bloody attacks occurred in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula that killed at least 33 soldiers and policemen.

According to the official, the al-Qassam Brigades was accused of carrying out terrorist attacks and killing over 30 people in late October, 2014. The group was also blamed for supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

Since the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, Egyptian authorities has been working to fight against Islamist militant groups based in the Sinai Peninsula, some were claimed to collude with the Hamas movement.

Islamist militants have killed hundreds of security personnel in Sinai, especially the northern district, which shares a border with Hamas-ruling Gaza Strip.

Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been banned all the activities in Egypt last March. Endit