Egyptian Authorities Break Up Embassy Plot

[Valin]

Weekly Standard:

THOMAS JOSCELYN

5/11/13

 

The Egyptian interior ministry announced Saturday that an al Qaeda plot against a Western embassy and other targets had been disrupted. Two suspected terrorists are being held for questioning and a third is under house arrest.

The Egyptian government did not say which embassy the three-man cell targeted. The New York Times reports that “a Western official said the Egyptians had privately identified the embassy as the United States Embassy in Cairo.”

 

During a surprise press conference, Egyptian interior minister Mohammed Ibrahim offered a number of intriguing details about the plot, which he said was close to fruition. But two of these details stand out.

First, the three-man cell sought direction from the leaders of the so-called Nasr City Cell, which is connected to both al Qaeda and the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Second, the cell had ties to al Qaeda operatives in several countries, including Iran. One of the cell’s members allegedly received military training inside Iran and Pakistan.

 

 

(Snip)