Anti-terror bill targets ISIL, not Brotherhood: Egypt

CAIRO

By Hagar al-Dosoki

Egypt is mulling anti-terror legislation aimed at countering terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an Egyptian official said Wednesday, denying that the Muslim Brotherhood would be the new law's target.

Mahmoud Fawzi, a spokesman for Egypt's Transitional Justice Ministry, said that the National Security Committee was currently studying several draft laws, including an anti-terror bill.

"The bill is not meant for the Muslim Brotherhood but for terrorist groups, including the ISIL," Fawzi told Anadolu Agency.

The ISIL recently seized vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, prompting the U.S. and its allies to launch airstrikes against the group in both countries.

The Egyptian media has reported that the bill was part of efforts to counter Muslim Brotherhood-perpetrated"violence."

"The bill aims to fill the legislative gap in terms of dealing with terrorist organizations," Fawzi said.

Late last year, Egyptian authorities labeled the Brotherhood – the group from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails – a "terrorist" group.

Since Morsi's ouster by the army last summer, the military-backed authorities have cracked down on supporters of Morsi and his Brotherhood group, killing hundreds and throwing thousands behind bars on "violence"-related charges.

The defendants,for their part, insist that the charges against them are politically driven.

www.aa.com.tr/en