CAIRO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Prosecutor General referred on Monday 555 members of the Islamic State (IS)-affiliate Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis terror group to military court.
A statement said the terrorists committed 63 terrorist attacks, including the murder and attempted murder of army and police personnel in the country's North Sinai province.
The defendants are accused of providing the terrorist group with funds and logistical support with the aim of targeting security facilities and military members as well as sabotaging a gas pipeline in Sinai, according to the statement.
The prosecution said that according to confessions of 216 defendants, the suspects were involved in the killing of a police captain and an army lieutenant in addition to targeting 10 security personnel and armored vehicles, checkpoints and security posts with explosives and automatic guns.
Bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip, Egypt's North Sinai province has been the center of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.
Attacks later expanded to reach several other places including Cairo and started to target the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings.
Most of the terror attacks were carried out by the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.
