(Reuters-New York Times) Top Egyptian militant Hisham al-Ashmawy was executed on Wednesday following his conviction over several high-profile attacks. Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, led the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis before it pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014. He then moved with a group of followers to Egypt's Western Desert, later crossing into Libya to join the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia. Ashmawy was convicted on several charges including plotting a 2014 attack that killed 22 military guards, and the attempted assassination of a former interior minister in 2013.
2020-03-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive