Egypt: Retrial of ‘Damietta Cell’ Members Postponed to June 8

Security forces stand guard in Alexandria, Egypt (file photo: Reuters)
Security forces stand guard in Alexandria, Egypt (file photo: Reuters)
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Egypt: Retrial of ‘Damietta Cell’ Members Postponed to June 8

Security forces stand guard in Alexandria, Egypt (file photo: Reuters)
Security forces stand guard in Alexandria, Egypt (file photo: Reuters)

The Cairo Criminal Court decided Sunday to postpone the first hearing of the retrial of three accused members of the Damietta terrorist cell to June 8.

The public prosecutor referred the defendants to the criminal court after charging them along with several others.

The charges include forming a terrorist group that embraces takfiri ideologies and committing crimes such as targeting churches, Christians and the state’s vital installations.

They also joined a terrorist group that was established in violation of the provisions of the law. The group calls for breaching the constitution, preventing state institutions from functioning, targeting public and private facilities and disturbing public peace.

The retrial of suspects accused in the case known as “Kerdasa massacre” was postponed to June 1.

The suspects stormed Kerdasa Police Center in August 2013, killed the head of the station, his deputy, 12 officers and a police conscript.

The public prosecution referred the defendant and others to the criminal court on charges of “participating in the August 2013 protests and committing premeditated murders after storming the police station.

The criminal court had in 2017 sentenced 20 defendants to death, 80 to life in prison, while 34 had received a 15-year sentence and a minor 10 years.



1 Dead in Israeli Strike on Munitions Van in Lebanon

The van was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Araya road
The van was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Araya road
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1 Dead in Israeli Strike on Munitions Van in Lebanon

The van was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Araya road
The van was targeted in an Israeli strike on the Araya road

An Israeli strike on a van carrying munitions near Beirut killed the driver Wednesday, the latest death in more than a month of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

A van likely belonging to Hezbollah was targeted in the Israeli strike on the Araya road and its driver killed, media reports said, adding that the vehicle was carrying munitions.

Lebanon's official National News Agency had earlier reported an "enemy drone strike" on a vehicle.

Residents in areas up to several kilometers away heard powerful explosions when the van was targeted, witnesses said.

Last week, the NNA said an Israeli strike targeting a car on the same highway killed two people.

Another vehicle in Bchamoun, roughly 10 kilometers southeast of Beirut, was also targeted on Wednesday, as reported by NNA. This is the first time in the conflict that the area is targeted.