Egyptian Islamic groups deny role in bomb attack

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Egyptian Islamic groups deny role in bomb attack

(Xinhua) 14:01, September 06, 2013

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CAIRO, Sept. 6 -- Egypt's main Islamic groups on Thursday denied responsibility for the attempted assassination of the interior minister, as several liberal movements accused the Muslim Brotherhood of involvement.

Egypt's Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim survived an attack on Thursday when a car bomb blew up next to his convoy, prompting him to warn that "a wave of terrorism" was just beginning. Ibrahim was unscathed, but 24 others were injured.

"This accident was likely to be a suicide explosion with a high explosive device," an Interior Ministry statement said.

No organizations so far have claimed responsibility for the attack, the first of its kind since the "January 25 Revolution" in 2011.

Condemning the incident, the Muslim Brotherhood -- the most prominent Islamic group in Egypt backing ousted President Mohamed Morsi -- described it as a "crime" in a statement.

The interior minister was blamed by the Islamists for the forced dispersion of pro-Morsi sit-ins, in which around 1,000 people were killed.

The group denied any use of weapons during the protests, insisting their struggle was peaceful.

After the explosion, Amr Darrag, a senior leader of the Brotherhood, condemned the incident and denied accusations from the government accusing the group of committing terrorism.

"The bombing allegedly targeting the minister of interior today is regrettable and the National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy strongly condemns it," Darrag said in a statement on behalf of the Alliance, a pro-Morsi bloc composed of 33 Islamic movements.

The Islamic Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya group, widely blamed for the infamous 1997 Luxor attack in which at least 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians were killed, also denounced the attack.

"No matter which group is responsible, and whatever the reasons behind the incident are, Al-Gamaa strongly denounces the incident," the Construction and Development Party, the group's political arm, said in an official statement.

"Such explosions open the door for bloody fights between sons of one nation," the statement added.

Despite rejecting the current security polices of the interim government, the group said violence is not the solution to political disputes in Egypt.

A member of the National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy, Al-Gamaa asserted that "the explosion hinders every bid for national reconciliation."

Younis Makhyoun, chief of the ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nour Party, the second biggest Islamic party after the Brotherhood in Egypt, said his party denounced violence in all forms, and warned that violent acts will complicate the political crisis.

He also expressed his concerns that Egypt may face a new round of violence and counter-violence, as has happened in the past, and stated: "The first loser of violence is the nation."

Urging the government to restrain from accusing groups before the investigation ends, Makhyoun called on all parties to take the incident as an opportunity to seek national reconciliation and close the door on those trying to harm national security.

Despite the condemnations and denouncements from the Islamic groups, some liberal parties claimed the Brotherhood is responsible for the "terrorist act", and urged the government to declare it a "terrorist group" which should be dissolved.

The Democratic Front party said it believes such an attack is likely to be attributable to a group like the Muslim Brotherhood, as the latter has announced several times that it will target top officials who dispersed its protesters with force.

Calling to purify Egypt from terrorism, the party asked that the Brotherhood be named as "terrorists" and its headquarters and funds be sequestrated.

The Free Egyptians Party also accused the Brotherhood of being responsible for the incident, alleging that the assassination bid was part of "a conspiracy by the Brotherhood to burn Egypt, continue the chaos scenario and weaken the state's pillars."

In reference to the Islamic factions, Amr Moussa -- former presidential candidate and ranking member of Morsi opposition group National Salvation Front -- asked all groups showing hostility to the interim government to assist security forces in tracking the perpetrators.

Hours after the blast, Egypt's cabinet vowed to strike terrorism with "an iron hand."

It also stressed that the attack won't hinder the government's efforts to fight terrorism firmly and decisively.

For his part, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, army chief and defense minister of Egypt, condemned the assassination bid, saying the attack won't influence the morale of security forces.

The armed forces work with police and support dealing with outlaws, he said in a statement published on the official website of the army.

Meanwhile, the presidency said in a statement on Thursday that it won't allow "the terrorism that Egyptians defeated in the 1980s and 1990s to show its ugly face again."

The presidency pledged in a statement that the perpetrators of terrorist crimes, whatever their affiliations, will not escape justice.