He was the most senior Egyptian official to have been killed since the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup in 2013.
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“We won’t spend five or 10 years trying the people who are killing us”, al-Sissi said, adding: “We will respect the law, but we’ll make it a law that confronts [terrorism]”.
Although the capital verdict against him is being appealed, Morsi has made recent court appearances in the red prison jumpsuit designated for those who are condemned to death. The Brotherhood denies the allegation, accusing the government of trying to justify its crackdown on the group.
The bombing came after the Daesh group’s affiliate in Egypt called for attacks on the judiciary following the hanging of six alleged militants.
The bomb appears to have been remotely detonated, and targeted Prosecutor Hisham Barakat as he left his home in the morning in the Heliopolis neighborhood with a convoy of guards, headed to the office. The militants were killed when the vehicle, packed with explosives, blew up before it could reach the police station, its apparent target. At least eight others were also hurt in the attack.
Footage from the scene of the blast showed cars charred and wrecked from the explosion, as black smoke rose from the site. Windows were shattered in surrounding buildings up to nine stories high.
“The United States stands firmly with the Egyptian government in its efforts to confront terrorism”, he said.
Speaking after he led a procession of mourners at Barakat’s military funeral, Sisi vowed that all sentences issued by the courts would be implemented. Pro-government media hailed Barakat as a “hero” and “martyr”.
The Egyptian judiciary says it is independent of the government and military. Mursi was sentenced this month to death over a mass jailbreak in 2011.
About the same time of Monday’s attack, a bomb exploded in a village near el-Arish, killing three engineers riding in a bus, security officials said.
A presidential spokesman told MENA that the interior ministry would increase security measures ahead of the June 30 anniversary of the toppling of Mursi, including heightening the alert level and reinforcing security at vital installations.
Islamic terrorists, who for years had turned Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula into a stronghold, widened their insurgency after Morsy’s overthrow.
Monday’s attack may be linked to Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the militant group based in the Sinai that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, said Roshanna Lawrence, regional intelligence manager for the Middle East and North Africa at geopolitical risk consultancy Max Security Solutions.
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Barakat died from “ruptures in the lung and stomach, and internal bleeding” at Al-Nozha hospital where he was admitted, Health Minister Adel Adawi said.
