Egypt says kills 8 Brotherhood members before terrorist acts

CAIRO – Egypt’s Interior Ministry says its forces have killed eight members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group “before carrying out terrorist acts.”

Is says in a Monday statement that the Brotherhood members fired on security forces when they were approached at an undisclosed date or location in the desert near the country’s southern border, drawing return fire that killed the men.

The statement says the group’s leader, Helmy Muhareb, had been previously sentenced to death in absentia on terrorism charges and was a wanted fugitive in other cases.

Earlier, the Giza Criminal Court said it sentenced Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and two other group leaders to life in prison on charges they confronted the state. Badie has already been sentenced to life in jail and the death penalty in other cases.