CAIRO —
Egypt's military-installed government has formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, blaming it for a police headquarters bombing that killed 15 people.
A government minister said this will mean a ban on all the group's activities including demonstrations.
Authorities will have the power to charge any member of the movement with membership in a terrorist organization.
This marks an escalation in the army-backed crackdown on the Brotherhood since the ouster of Egypt's elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.
The Cabinet statement comes a day after the bombing of a police headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura.
The Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday condemned that bombing, and on Wednesday, a hardline Islamist group based in the Sinai said it was responsible for the attack.
The al-Qaida-inspired group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said the suicide car bombing was a response to the government's crackdown against Islamists.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has previously asserted responsibility for bombings in Sinai and the attempted assassination of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in Cairo in September.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
A government minister said this will mean a ban on all the group's activities including demonstrations.
Authorities will have the power to charge any member of the movement with membership in a terrorist organization.
This marks an escalation in the army-backed crackdown on the Brotherhood since the ouster of Egypt's elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood- Egypt's largest and oldest Islamist organization
- Was banned under Hosni Mubarak
- The Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012
- The Brotherhood won the most seats in 2012 parliamentary elections
- Brotherhood supporters have staged massive protests since Morsi's ouster
- Egypt outlawed the group again in September 2013
- Egypt's military-installed government declared it a terrorist organization in December 2013
The Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday condemned that bombing, and on Wednesday, a hardline Islamist group based in the Sinai said it was responsible for the attack.
The al-Qaida-inspired group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said the suicide car bombing was a response to the government's crackdown against Islamists.
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has previously asserted responsibility for bombings in Sinai and the attempted assassination of Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in Cairo in September.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
