Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has said he wants notorious terror leader Hesham al-Ashmawi to be returned to Egypt to be held accountable for his crimes, Egypt's Ahram Online reported Thursday (October 11th).
Al-Ashmawi, a former Egyptian army officer and leader of an al-Qaeda offshoot, was captured earlier this week in Libya.
Speaking at the Armed Forces' 29th anniversary seminar, al-Sisi contrasted al-Ashmawi with Ahmed al-Mansi, an Egyptian officer who was killed in clashes with extremists in North Sinai.
The two had once been part of the same Army Special Forces unit, he noted.
"Al-Mansi and al-Ashmawi are both human beings and army officers who shared the same unit in the armed forces," he said. "We look up to the former with pride and gratitude, while we look to hold the latter one accountable for his crimes."
Al-Mansi is often lauded for having sacrificed himself for his fellow troops during fierce clashes in July 2017, in which 26 soldiers and officers were killed.
