Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Hamas has again been linked to an insurgency plot — this time to assassinate Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi.

A pro-military daily, El Watan, said authorities foiled a Muslim Brotherhood plot to kill Sisi, deemed Egypt’s de facto leader. The
newspaper said Hamas was recruited in the plan to kill Sisi and other military leaders.

“They aimed to target Military Intelligence headquarters with help from [Hamas’] Izzedin Kassam movement,” the newspaper said.

In a report on Aug. 5, El Watan said Hamas was assigned to bring fighters from Egypt’s turbulent Sinai Peninsula. The newspaper said Vice President Mohammed El Baradei and Interior Minister Mohammed Ibram were also targeted for assassination.

Hamas has been accused of playing a major role in destabilizing Sinai. Officials said scores of Hamas and other Palestinian fighters were captured during the current counter-insurgency campaign in the peninsula over the last month.

Sources told the newspaper that the Islamist attacks, coordinated by Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and Al Qaida chief Ayman Zawahiri, were
meant to be launched on the first day of Id El Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fast month. They said fighters were to have been supplied with
weapons acquired from Libya.

“We have prepared reports that outline a major terrorist plot that included Al Qaida and jihadist elements,” the source said.