Cairo (CNN) -- Egypt's interim military government Tuesday added two more key figures to its list of Muslim Brotherhood leaders under arrest: Mohamed Badie, the group's spiritual leader, and Safwat Hegazy, a preacher and hardline supporter of the movement.
They were among about 100 members of the Muslim Brotherhood taken into custody Tuesday.
The brotherhood -- locked in a deadly battle with the military for control of Egypt -- slammed the interim government's ongoing "bloody military coup."
Badie was taken in a dawn raid at a residential apartment in Cairo's Nasr City neighborhood, the Ministry of Interior said.
Arresting Badie "is not the end of the group, which will remain in the hearts of millions of Egyptians," Ahmed Arif, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, said in a statement.
Badie will be detained for 15 days for investigation on accusations of inciting violence and killing protesters, Egypt's Ministry of Interior said. The detention could be extended, as has been done with ousted President Mohamed Morsy.
Mahmoud Ezzat, Badie's deputy, was named supreme guide on a temporary basis.
Later, Hegazy was arrested in Nasr City as well, according to state-run broadcaster Al-Masriya.
Opinion: Can anyone save Egypt from the brink?

A soldier sets up barbed wire in anticipation of protesters outside the constitutional court in Cairo on Sunday, August 18. The protesters never showed up. Over the past week, about 900 people -- security forces as well as citizens -- have been killed. Deaths occurred when the military used force to clear supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy from two sit-in sites in Cairo on Wednesday, and violence raged after Morsy supporters staged demonstrations Friday. Look back at Egypt's unrest.
Friends and relatives of Ammar Badie, 38, killed Friday during clashes in Ramses Square, carry his coffin during his funeral in Al-Hamed mosque in Cairo on August 18. Ammar Badie was the son of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie.
Wreckage and debris litter the area around the Al-Fateh mosque in Cairo, where hundreds of Islamist protesters had barricaded themselves on Saturday, August 17. Thousands defied an emergency order by taking to the streets the day before to mark a "Friday of anger" in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsy.
Riot police enter the community services hall of the Al-Fateh mosque, where Morsy supporters had holed up on August 17.
Policemen stand guard inside a room of Al-Fateh mosque as supporters of Morsy exchange gunfire with security forces inside the mosque in Cairo on Saturday, August 17.
Egyptians security forces escort a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood out of the Al-Fateh mosque and through an angry crowd in Ramses Square on August 17.
An army officer escorts an Islamist woman out of Cairo's Al-Fateh mosque on August 17.
A Morsy supporter prays on the floor of the Al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square as injured protesters are treated nearby on Friday, August 16.
A wounded boy is treated in the Taamin Sehi field hospital during clashes on August 16.
A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood runs past a burning vehicle near Cairo's Ramses Square during clashes with security officers on August 16.
Morsy supporters carry supplies while violent clashes continue to take place near Ramses Square on August 16.
An Egyptian man offers a bottle of juice to policemen as clashes between Morsy supporters and security forces continue in Cairo on August 16.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsy supporters flee shooting near Ramses Square in Cairo on August 16.
A Muslim Brotherhood member and Morsy supporter wears a gas mask made out of a plastic bottle during clashes in front of the Azbkya police station on August 16.
Morsy supporters march in Cairo. Gunfire was heard from the overpass as tear gas was fired.
Demonstrators hurt in the clashes at Ramses Square are taken away on August 16 in Cairo.
A military helicopter flies above demonstrators in Cairo on August 16.
A protester receives treatment at the Al-Fateh mosque in Cairo on August 16.
Bodies of protesters who died during clashes are laid out at the Al-Fateh mosque on August 16.
A group of men gather around an injured protester in Giza on August 16.
Demonstrators and Muslim Brotherhood supporters carry the body of a man apparently shot during clashes with security forces in Giza district on the outskirts of Cairo on August 16.
Morsy supporters demonstrate outside Al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square in Cairo on August 16.
Protesters demonstrate near Ennour mosque in Cairo on August 16.
A flag-covered coffin of a man killed during Wednesday's clashes is carried at Amr Ibn Al-As mosque before a funeral in Cairo on August 16.
A protester wounded during clashes braces for help outside of a church on Mourad Street in Giza on August 16.
Egyptian soldiers take positions alongside armored vehicles as they guard the entrance to Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday, August 16.
A Morsy supporter takes part in a protest near Ennour mosque in Cairo on August 16.
People reach for a coffin on Thursday, August 15, during a funeral for police officers killed during a crackdown at two protest camps in support of Morsy.
Egyptian police officers attend the funeral for their colleagues on August 15.
Men are detained near a burned section of Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 15.
People search through debris at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on August 15.
A man on August 15 checks out a list of names of those killed in the crackdown.
Egyptians mourn over a body wrapped in shrouds at a Cairo mosque August 15.
Morsy supporters carry a coffin into a mosque in Cairo's Nasr City on August 15.
A woman weeps after identifying the body of a relative on August 15 at a Cairo mosque.
A man walks inside the burned-out Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 15.
Motorcyclists pass by debris, including Morsy posters, in Cairo's Nahda Square on August 15.
Supporters of Morsy shout during clashes with Egyptian police at the Rabaah Al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo's Nasr City district on August 14.
A woman tries to stop a military bulldozer from hurting a wounded youth during clashes on August 14 in eastern Cairo.
Morsy supporters run as Egyptian security forces fire toward them on August 14.
An injured youth is seen at a makeshift hospital in Cairo on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy take cover from Egyptian security forces during clashes on August 14.
A Morsy supporter reacts after identifying the body of a dead family member at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14 in Cairo.
The national identity cards of protesters allegedly killed during a clear-out operation by Egyptian security forces on pro-Morsy demonstrators are exchanged at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14.
A Morsy supporter lies wounded on a stretcher at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14.
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a protest in support of deposed President Morsy in Cairo on August 14.
Army bulldozers remove a barricade erected by supporters of Morsy during clashes with riot police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy push a police vehicle off the 6th of October Bridge in Cairo on August 14.
A member of the Egyptian security forces lies on the ground in Cairo on August 14 after a police vehicle was pushed off the 6th of October Bridge.
A man grieves at a makeshift morgue in Cairo on August 14.
Morsy supporters confront police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square on August 14.
Morsy supporters carry a wounded man during clashes with riot police in Cairo on August 14.
A Morsy supporter during clashes with police in Cairo on August 14.
Riot police stand behind a wounded man near Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy and members of the Muslim Brotherhood run from tear gas as security forces move in at the site of a pro-Morsy sit-in in Cairo on August 14.
A Morsy supporter sits under arrest at Cairo's Nahda Square on August 14.
Egyptians help a woman suffering from tear gas exposure in a street leading to Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Egyptian security forces detain protesters in Cairo's Nasr City district on August 14.
The scene from a street in Cairo's Nasr City appears chaotic as security forces clear a sit-in August 14.
A woman tries to protect herself from tear gas in Cairo on August 14.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters run from tear gas in a street leading to Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Protesters gather in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on Monday, August 12.
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
Egypt protests
HIDE CAPTION
Photos: Egypt protests
Egypt: The final days of an activist
Egyptian FM: There are bumps on the road
Activist: U.S. aid used against Egyptians The military has been arresting numerous key figures in the Muslim Brotherhood, including Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the former supreme guide; his deputy, Khairat al-Shater; Saad al-Katatni, chairman of the brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party; his deputy, Rashad al-Bayoumi; and Sheikh Hazem Salah Abo Ismael.
Armed fighters holed up in school facility, military says
Badie was with Syed Abdul Rahim Abdel Naby, a teacher from the Islamic Dawa school in Beni Suef, when he was arrested at dawn, the Ministry of Interior said in its statement.
Defterios: Egypt's cycle of violence threatens to destroy its economy
Security forces then searched the school and arrested 38 members of the Muslim Brotherhood "who were hiding" in the facility and had numerous weapons, including a rifle, pistols, and Molotov cocktails, the statement said. Some of the equipment belonged to the administration of the civil protection unit in Beni Suef, which had been stormed, robbed and set on fire, the statement said.
Both sides in the conflict have insisted they reject violence, but fighting has raged.
The Muslim Brotherhood changed its profile image on Facebook Tuesday to an image of Badie, with a quote saying, "Our peaceful movement is mightier than their tanks."
Nationwide arrests
Security forces also arrested 56 administrative leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in various provinces, the Ministry of Interior said.
The arrests came a day after 25 soldiers were killed in a Sinai ambush and onetime ruler Hosni Mubarak won acquittal on a corruption charge.
The soldiers were killed when suspected militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades struck two buses carrying security forces Monday in the city of Rafah, on the border between Egypt and Gaza, Nile TV reported.
Interim President Adly Mansour declared three days of national mourning following the attack, Nile TV said.
The Sinai Peninsula is a lawless area that was the site of frequent attacks even before Egypt's latest round of turmoil. In May, for example, seven Egyptian solders were kidnapped and held for six days there, a spokesman for Egypt's armed forces said.
But the attack adds to the persistent tension across the country since the military ousted the democratically elected Morsy in a coup.
Over the past week, about 900 people -- security personnel as well as citizens -- have been killed.
Deaths occurred when the military used force to clear two pro-Morsy sit-in sites in Cairo on Wednesday and violence raged after pro-Morsy supporters staged demonstrations Friday.
Billions in aid on the line: What will the U.S. do about Egypt?
This article is taken from CNN.com
Няма коментари:
Публикуване на коментар