Informed judicial sources have confirmed a claim by jihadi groups that the attempt on the life of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in early September was carried out by a former army officer.
Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said former officer Waleed Badr was aided by three other Egyptians, two Palestinians, and another, possibly from Afghanistan.
The same sources confirmed that the officer carried out the attack while the rest of his colleagues were waiting at a flat in Nasr City before escaping to Sinai after the explosion.
The National Security Agency (NSA) had ordered the arrest of the other six suspects, the sources added.
The sources said the NSA reached the conclusion on Badr's involvement after interrogating Gama Abdu, a suspect in the terrorist cell apprehended in Nasr City in October.
Abdu had admitted that the group behind the assassination attempt is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and that he had trained the suicide bomber more than a year ago in Sinai.
Investigations revealed that three other army officers had joined Al-Qaeda but did not take part in Ibrahim's assassination attempt.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
