The Military Criminal Court sentenced Hesham Ali Ashmawy, one of Egypt’s most notorious militants, to death by hanging on Wednesday after he was convicted of 14 crimes related to the 2014 Farafra terrorist attack and other militant activities. Ashmawy headed the Ansar Beit al-Maqdes militant group based in the North Sinai Peninsula and was involved in the July 19, 2014 terrorist attack targeting the border checkpoint of Farafra, during which an armory was bombed and 22 military personnel stationed there were killed. Ashmawy also targeted a military vehicle carrying five military personnel and another vehicle carrying six personnel on al-Saleheya al-Gadeeda road, targeting as well a tanker carrying a M60 tank and a military vehicle carrying three military personnel on the Cairo-Ismailia road. Ashmawy previously infiltrated Libyan territory accompanied by other militants in his terrorist cell before joining another militant group — Ansar al-Sharia — in the city of Ajdabiya, eventually founding a joint group called Morabetoon. The increase in violent extremism in the country followed the ouster of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Source: Egypt Independent November 28, 2019 10:18 UTC