Egyptian minister accuses Hamas of involvement in Mansoura bombing

The Egyptian minister of the Interior, Mohamed Ibrahim, has accused Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas of providing logistical support to a bomb attack on 24 December 2013 in Mansoura that killed 16 people and injured more than 130.

Ibrahim

Ibrahim, who spoke to reporters at a press conference on Thursday, also claimed a Muslim Brotherhood member had admitted to involvement in various crimes in Mansoura and to having links with Hamas. According to Ibrahim, Amer Mosaad, a 30-year-old commerce faculty graduate who "belongs to the Brotherhood," has admitted entering the Gaza Strip via tunnels with Ahmed El-Sayed and Mohamed Ahmed, who are also Brotherhood members, as well as a Palestinian, Mohamed Mahmoud. The assailants communicated with Gaza-based Hamas,which is an ideological offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, for help and support ahead of the Mansoura bombing, Ibrahim added.
The group Ansar Beit El-Maqdis, which is based in the Sinai, claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas has denied any links to attacks in Egypt. The allegations are "false and unfounded," and are meant to "drag our name" into the violence, the group said on Thursday. "The accusations of invovelment in the Mansoura bombing are an attempt to export the internal Egyptian crisis," Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu-Zuhri said via his Facebook page.
Seven people, including the son of a Muslim Brotherhood leader, have been arrested in connection with the suicide bomb attack, the interior minister said."Seven of the accused have been arrested, most prominent is Yehya Almongi Saad al-Huseini who is the son of a Muslim Brotherhood leader," he told a news conference.