Egypt's Ministry of Interior has announced the arrest on Tuesday of 12 members of rhe Hasm terrorist group in Fayoum governorate, 100 kilometres southwest of Cairo. The group members were planning to conduct a number of attacks within Egypt, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The suspects confessed to joining a group called "Hasm Vanguards" and received training on the use of firearms and preparing IED's, said the ministry. Police made the arrests based on intelligence provided by Homeland Security, seizing weapons and ammunition during a raid, according to the statement. The Hasm group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks against Egyptian security personnel in recent months, mostly targeting police checkpoints. Egyptian security forces have arrested and killed dozens of suspected Hasm members in the past few months. Authorities say Hasm is linked to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
