Family of Egyptian Militant Ashmawy Not Notified of His Execution: Lawyer
Earlier, the online website of state news paper al-Ahram, and the private pro-government al-Shorouk and al-Watan dailies reported Ashmawy had been executed but later removed their reports from their websites.
“I think the media reports about his execution are not true especially after the media websites removed the reports,” Masry told Reuters.
Three security sources had also said Ashmawy, who has been described as the country’s most dangerous militant, had been executed. An Egyptian military source who asked not to be named, however said the reports were not true.
Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, was convicted on several charges, including plotting a 2014 attack that killed 22 military guards, and the attempted assassination of a former interior minister in 2013, the military said in November.
Ashmawy led the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt’s most active militant group, before it pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2014, it said.
