Muslim Brotherhood calls Egyptian people to overthrow Sissi regime after raid kills 13 of its leaders


The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) urged the Egyptian people to rebel against Sissi regime with a statement late Wednesday, after 13 of its leaders were killed in a raid by security forces in Cairo earlier in the day.The MB statement said that its leaders were assassinated as the Egyptian Army was failing to give a solid response while Egyptian soldiers were being murdered by armed militants in the Sinai Peninsula."Those who were murdered were members of the committee in charge of giving psychological and legal support to the families of (MB's) martyrs and detainees" the statement said."Assassinations against MB leaders have made it impossible to control the anger of the oppressed, and crimes of Sissi regime will shift the struggle to a new level. No one will stand and wait in their homes while their families are being executed."The statement pointed out that 13 people were executed without investigation by the militia attached to the regime, which is a sign of transforming Egypt into a "mafia state.""Come out in rebellion and in defense of your country, yourselves and your children," the statement said, "Destroy the citadels of his oppression and tyranny and reclaim Egypt once again."Sissi regime had earlier acknowledged the dead as "terrorists" and stated they were killed as they responded the raid with firearms.The Egyptian Interior Ministry said the group included two people who had previously been sentenced to death.A statement from the ministry late Wednesday said that in addition to weapons, investigators found 43,000 Egyptian pounds ($5,630) along with documents and memory cards. The ministry said the group was planning attacks on the army, police, judiciary and the media. Materials seized in the raid would be used in the investigation of the assassination of chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat, who was killed Monday.The ministry said three members of the Special Forces team involved in the raid were wounded in the operation.State television aired images of the apartment after the raid, showing bloodied bodies on the floor with several Kalashnikov assault rifles nearby.The raid against MB leaders took place the very same day, according tothe Egyptian security officials who say 64 soldiers have been killed fighting militants in the northern Sinai in the deadliest battle on the peninsula since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.The militants launched a massive, coordinated assault on army and police positions Wednesday, setting off hours of clashes.The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said 90 militants and four civilians were killed in the fighting.The attack was claimed by an affiliate of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) group. Sinai-based militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian security forces since the military coup that led to the overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi.