The latest deadly bombing in Egypt, which killed at least 14 people and injured 200, has prompted the authorities to brand the largest Islamist group in the country, the Muslim Brotherhood, as a terrorist group... Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi denounced the deadly bombing that hit the Daqahliyah security directorate in the Nile Delta city of Al-Mansurah early on Tuesday December 24. Al-Beblawi reportedly blamed the Muslim Brotherhood over the attack, branding the group as a "terrorist organization".
"The Brotherhood has shown its ugly face as a terrorist group that is spilling blood and tampering with the security of the homeland," the premier said in a statement read by the spokesman for the interim government Sherif Shawqi. The Brotherhood's terrorist acts "will not weaken our determination to move forward in implementing the roadmap and will not discourage people from turning out to vote (next month) in high numbers during the referendum on the constitution."
But Al-Beblawi spoke later to the private ON TV Channel, refusing to confirm that whether the authorities have decided to designate the already banned Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. "Whoever is behind this act is a terrorist and will be brought to justice and punished according to the law," he said. On September 23, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters banned all the Brotherhood's activities and ordered the seizure of its funds. The Brotherhood has denied its responsibility for the bloody attack, which killed at least 14 people and injured up to 200. In a statement, the group said: "The Muslim Brotherhood considers this act as a direct attack on the unity of the Egyptian people and demands an enquiry forthwith so that the perpetrators of this crime may be brought to justice." The group also slammed Al-Beblawi's remarks, saying: "It is no surprise that Al-Beblawi, the military junta's puppet Prime Minister, has decided to exploit the blood of innocent Egyptians through inflammatory statements designed to create further violence, chaos and instability." Social Solidarity Minister Ahmed al-Bura'i also blamed the Muslim Brotherhood over the bombing, saying: "This attack reveals the true face of a group that attacks innocent people and does not show any respect to their blood." "The Brotherhood organization has no future in Egypt. Branding it as a terrorist group was a result of its crimes," he said. The bombing is the worst of its kind since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Morsi on July 3. A number of bombings have been carried out across the country since his overthrow by the powerful military in the aftermath of massive protests nationwide against his one year in office. On July 24, an explosive device went off at a police station near the same security directorate in Al-Mansurah, killing one conscript and injuring 19. Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim, on September 5, survived an assassination attempt when a bomb detonated near his convoy in the northeastern suburb of Nasr City in Cairo. Several police stations were also attacked across Egypt in the aftermath of the deadly crackdown on pro-Morsi sit-ins in mid August. Attacks are always blamed on suspected Islamists incensed at Morsi's removal. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis armed group, which is believed to have links with the Muslim Brotherhood, has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, including the failed assassination attempt on the interior minister's life.
The latest bombing has drawn wide reactions in the local media, with several experts and social media users putting the blame squarely on the Muslim Brotherhood. On the micro blogging website Twitter, prominent journalist Hamdi Qandil said: "Al-Mansurah's bombing is an early warning to those who will celebrate feasts [in reference to Egyptian Copts who celebrate Christmas on January 7] and will cast their ballots in [the constitution] referendum. Egypt will not bow before terrorism." Journalist Wael Abd-al-Fattah also tweeted: "The terrorist groups' success to have access to advanced technology is a significant development that requires the security performance to be improved. This development represents a political suicide of the alliance that supports terrorism". The admin of the Facebook page of Tamarud (Rebellion) Movement, a youth group that claimed to have collected more than 25 million signatures from the public to force Morsi to step down, commented on the bombing saying: "Fourteen martyrs fell, more than 200 injured. The Brotherhood is a terrorist group. Its members, sympathizers and those who are not Brotherhood members but respect the group are all terrorists. No reconciliation or sympathy with terrorism." Veteran leftist activist and journalist Nabil Zaki said the incident "proves that Egypt has become a target of different groups of terrorism". Speaking to state-run Nile News TV, he accused the Brotherhood of having links to Al-Qaeda."For the first time in history, Egypt is involved in a global war with all kinds of terrorist groups," he said. Muhammad Ban, specialist in Islamist groups, says that Egypt is exposed to "a real threat". "Egypt is in a real war with terrorism in the light of the repeated attacks against police and military facilities," he said. He criticized the performance of security apparatuses, saying "these frequent incidents prove the absence of a comprehensive security plan to confront terrorism".
