Egypt sentences eight to life over joining IS-linked terror group

An Egyptian court on Tuesday sentenced eight people to life in prison on charges of joining a terror cell affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, official MENA news agency reported.

Three of the defendants were handed the prison term in absentia. Life sentence in Egypt is 25 five years in jail.

They were convicted of forming a cell in Cairo with link to the IS for launching terrorist operations against the police, the Armed Forces and the state institutions.

The prosecution had charged them with adopting Jihadist views and communicating with a terrorist organization abroad for assaulting the private and the public facilities.

On Nov. 5, two people were sentenced to death and four others to 25 years in jail over forming a terrorist cell targeting the country's institutions.

Terrorism has been growing in Egypt since the military-led ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Since then, most of the attacks hit the restive Sinai Peninsula while several deadly ones were carried out in different parts across the country including the Western Desert bordering conflict-stricken Libya.

A Sinai-based group loyal to the IS militant group claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks over the past three years. Endit