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Update: Egyptian PM replaces interior chief, seven other ministers

Xinhua, March 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab on Thursday reshuffled his cabinet, replacing interior chief Mohamed Ibrahim and seven other ministers, state TV reported.

The reshuffle also included the ministries of Technical Education and Training, Tourism, Culture, Population, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Communication and Information Technology, and Education.

Mahlab said the new ministers have been sworn in earlier on Thursday.

The replacement of the interior minister came after a recent notable increase of terrorist bomb attacks across the country.

The new interior minister is Magdi Mohamed Abdel Hamid Abdel Ghaffar, according to a statement from the presidency.

State news agency MENA said Abdel Ghaffar spent most of his career in the interior ministry's State Security service, once serving as chief of the service.

Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree to appoint Ibrahim as an adviser to the Council of Ministers with the rank of deputy prime minister.

Ibrahim was appointed as interior minister in January 2013 by former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was removed in July 2013 after massive protests against his one-year rule.

Ibrahim later led a crackdown on members of outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, leaving about 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested. He was one of the few ministers to keep their posts after Morsi's removal.

Egyptian police forces, led by Ibrahim, have been recently criticized by local and international rights groups for using excessive force against civilians.

Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism since the ouster of Morsi.

Anti-government attacks have since extended from the restive Sinai to Cairo and other provinces across the country, with Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group claiming responsibility for dozens of deadly attacks that left hundreds of military and police personnel dead. Endit