Three judges were killed and their driver on Saturday when terrorists targeted a van in which they were travelling from Ismailia to Al-Arish. Though the judges' were accompanied by security forces and the van was hit by a hail of bullets there was no exchange of fire. It is the first time judges have been targeted in Sinai. The attack came hours after death sentences were passed on Mohamed Morsi and 105 Muslim Brotherhood members. On Sunday Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ibrahim Al-Heneidi, who is serving temporarily as Minister of Justice, accused the Muslim Brotherhood of responsibility for the attack and vowed to stiffen penalties for acts of terror. “The escalation in terrorist activities in North Sinai and across Egypt which have left hundreds of police, soldiers and civilians dead are clearly linked to Mohamed Morsi's removal from power,” Al-Heneidi told reporters. “Not only is this gang of terrorists targeting judges, they target civilians, policemen, military personnel, churches, schools, hospitals, police stations, electricity pylons, gas stations and oil pipelines. But Egypt has faced waves of terrorism since the last century and has always been able to contain them.” The Interior Ministry put police across Egypt on high alert and suspended all leave following Saturday's death sentences. Mohamed Kamel, head of North Sinai Court, is unconvinced the attack was a response to judgments issued hours earlier. “The attack was clearly planned well in advance,” Kamel told MBC Misr private satellite channel on Sunday. He added that he had taken the same road hours before the terrorists hit. The van was accompanied by an armoured vehicle, leading to questions about why there was no exchange of fire. That the attack took place when security forces had been placed on the highest alert, and in a place repeatedly targeted by terrorists, has inevitably led to accusations of incompetence. The Interior Ministry is conducting its own investigation into possible security failings and has summoned officers responsible for securing judges, including the assistant head of the North Sinai Security Directorate, for questioning. Al-Masry Al-Youm quoted an unnamed security source saying an officer accompanying the judges had been told by his commander to allow the van to continue without an escort after it refuelled at a gas station in Bir Al-Abd. “The officers were redeployed to accompany two buses carrying delegates to a youth conference in Al-Arish” said the source. Following the attack the Ministry of Justice cancelled all court hearings in Al-Arish and transferred them to Ismailia. An emergency meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council convened on Sunday to discuss ways to beef up the protection accorded judges. Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis – now known as State of Sinai – announced their responsibility for the attack. The group has been at the forefront of attacks against security targets since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. On Tuesday State of Sinai released a video threatening security personnel and army collaborators. Though it is the first time the judiciary has been targeted in this way in Sinai in the rest of Egypt judges have long been wary of possible terrorist attacks. Last Sunday three improvised bombs exploded near the home of Moataz Khafagi, a judge who has handed a number of death sentences and lengthy jail terms to Islamist defendants. The blast damaged the façade of a building and shattered the windows of three cars. Four passers-by were injured. In March a small bomb was left in front of the house of Fathi Bayoumi, the judge responsible for hearing corruption charges against Mubarak-era interior minister Habib Al-Adli. The words “a gift for Al-Adli's acquittal” were written on a wall near to where the device detonated. In January a bomb planted close to the home of Khaled Mahgoub, one of the judges in the Morsi jailbreak case, damaged the windows and walls of his house. On 5pm on Sunday, a day after the Sinai attack, six members of State of Sinai were executed. They had been sentenced in October 2014 by a military court after being found guilty of carrying out attacks against military forces in March 2014. An appeal against the death sentences was rejected. Following the death sentences handed to Muslim Brotherhood leaders the group's spokesman, Mohamed Montasser, urged the public to retaliate. Montasser demanded “retribution” and called for a revolution that would “cut the heads from rotten bodies”. He asked people to demonstrate in public squares across Egypt. On Sunday security forces in Al-Mansoura governorate raided what they claimed was a terrorist cell that specialised in bomb attacks and was planning attacks of police targets in the governorate. During a speech delivered last week President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said counter terrorism operations remained central to building the stability needed for development and disclosed that 600 suspected terrorists had been arrested in April.
