General's murder highlights fragile Egypt security

General's murder highlights fragile Egypt security

The brazen daylight assassination of a police general in Cairo underscores the growing insecurity in Egypt, as it awaits an announcement from its army chief to run for the presidency.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group from the restive Sinai Peninsula, said it shot dead General Mohamed Saeed outside his home in western Cairo on Tuesday, and threatened more such attacks.

The killing came a day after Egypt's top brass backed Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency, which he is expected to win easily if he runs.

Sisi, 59, has said he would stand for the election to be held by mid-April if there was "popular demand".

In just over six months, Sisi has won accolades from a vast section of Egyptians for ousting Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and crushing his Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi, Egypt's first elected civilian president, fell after mass protests following one turbulent year in office.

A victory for Sisi would keep alive a tradition of presidents drawn from the military, but the road ahead is expected to be riddled with political turmoil and security challenges.

The Brotherhood, now banned as a "terrorist" group, criticised the army's backing for Sisi.

"Now it is evident that what happened on July 3 was a full-fledged military coup," it said, referring to the day of Morsi's ouster.

"The military council, whose main mission is to protect and not rule, mandated its chief, the leader of the coup, to run for the presidency, so the military can dominate political life in Egypt when it should remain far away from politics."

General Saeed's killing and later that of a policeman outside a Cairo church highlights the precarious security situation since the 2011 overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak, with the violence having only worsened since Morsi's removal.

On Wednesday, masked gunmen on motorbike shot dead a policeman in the Nile Delta province of Sharkiya, security officials said.

At least 1,400 people, mostly Morsi supporters, have been killed in a relentless crackdown on Islamists, according to Amnesty International, while scores of policemen and soldiers have fallen to militant attacks.

As part of the crackdown, 20 Al-Jazeera staff -- including award-winning Australian journalist Peter Greste, two Britons and a Dutch woman -- were referred to trial on Wednesday.

The authorities have been incensed by the pan-Arab network's coverage of their campaign against the Islamists.

The foreigners were accused of "airing false news" among other charges, while the remaining 16 -- all Egyptians -- were charged with belonging to a "terrorist" group, the prosecution said.

Al-Jazeera said its journalists had not been officially informed of developments in their case.

"These are silly charges and not based on any reality.

"This is a challenge to freedom of speech and the right of journalists to report different aspects of events, and the right of the people to know what is happening," the channel said.

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Since last Thursday alone, at least 14 policemen have been killed across Egypt, while nine soldiers were killed in Sinai.