‘Sudanese sniper plucked from Cairo minaret’: Egypt police

Egyptian law enforcement officials have confirmed the presence of a Sudanese national among snipers removed from the minaret of central Cairo’s Al Fath mosque on Saturday. The mosque  – with the highest minaret in the city – was the scene of a stand-off between security forces and Muslim Brotherhood supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, who had barricaded themselves into the building on Friday. Press reports earlier alleged financial support from Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the presence of some Sudanese Islamists on Rab’a Al Adawiyya and Al Nahda squares. Egypt’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that “a total of 1,004 Brotherhood members have been detained in raids across the country” and that “weapons, bombs and ammunition were confiscated from the detainees”. The statement said that “several foreigners were also rounded-up including Sudanese, Pakistanis and Syrians”. File photo: Mist over Cairo, with the minaret of the Al Fath mosque in the foreground (UN Photo)