Death penalty to former Egyptian military officer over terrorism

An Egyptian military court sentenced on Wednesday a former military officer to death over plotting and carrying out terrorist operations in Egypt, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement.

Hisham al-Ashmawy, one of Egypt's most wanted terrorists, was extradited in late May to Egypt from Libya where he was detained by the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, Xinhua news agency reported.

He belonged to a Sinai-based terrorist group loyal to the Islamic State regional group, which claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist attacks in Egypt over the past few years.

Ashmawy was charged with being involved in the 2014 New Valley massacre that left 22 Egyptian border guards dead, a 2013 car-bomb assassination attempt of a former Egyptian interior minister, as well as other attacks targeting army personnel, checkpoints, facilities and vehicles.

Ashmawy, 41, fled to Libya after orchestrating a 2017 terrorist operation in a desert area in Egypt that killed 16 policemen.

He is believed to have established an al-Qaida-oriented terrorist group in Libya before his detention.

Earlier in November, an Egyptian military court sentenced a Libyan defendant, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Abdullah al-Mismary, to death over his involvement in the 2017 deadly ambush orchestrated by Ashmawy.