This was much more than a study group…
Egyptian authorities made over a dozen arrests this past week of university students including an American on terror charges. The students were all enrolled at Islam’s oldest and most prestigious university, Al-Azhar University.
The AP reports:
Police have arrested an American, 11 Europeans and several others from Arab countries for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in Middle Eastern countries including Iraq, the Interior Ministry said Monday.
The group was part of an Islamic militant terror cell that had adopted extremist ideas and were living in Egypt under the guise of studying Arabic and Islamic studies, the ministry said in a statement.
Along with the American, police arrested two Belgians, nine French and several others from Egypt and other Arab countries including Tunisia and Syria, the statement said.
The ministry did not provide names or say how many Egyptians and Arabs were arrested.
“Investigations have confirmed that those elements are related to some terrorist organizations abroad,” the ministry said. “They were seeking to recruit others, teach them destructive beliefs, urging them for jihad, traveling to Iraq to carry out operations via other countries in the region.”
They were arrested about a week ago, and some had been studying at Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s most important seat of learning, police officials said.
The BBC has more:
An interior ministry statement said the suspects included nine Frenchmen, two Belgians, and one American.
