Egypt will try 292 extremist suspects over plots to assassinate President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the Saudi crown prince and attacks in Sinai, AFP reported Sunday (November 20th).
The suspects, including 151 currently in custody, were referred to a military court for alleged membership in "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) affiliate Wilayat Sinai, a prosecution official said Sunday.
The suspects were questioned about the accusations against them and 66 confessed during an investigation that lasted more than a year, the official said.
All of the suspects were involved in 17 operations, including two plots to kill al-Sisi, one while he was on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and one in Cairo, the official said.
The official gave no further details, but said those who planned the assassination attempts were dismissed police officers who adhere to extremist ideology.
The suspects allegedly also planned to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef in the Gulf kingdom and five Egyptian judges.
The prosecution also accuses the suspects of attacking army and police checkpoints and bases in Sinai, and of responsibility for a February 2014 attack on a bus carrying South Korean tourists in the south Sinai tourist resort of Taba that killed three holidaymakers.
