Egypt Sentences Seven Islamic Militants to Death

Egypt has sentenced seven Islamic militants, convicted of killing army officers, to death on Tuesday.

The militants were members of a group known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which is a group that has been targeting Egyptian security forces after the ousting of Mohammed Morsi.

The Egyptian president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said that the sentence showed his commitment to fight terrorism throughout the Middle East.

The seven plan to appeal the sentence.

The sentence comes as part of a government crackdown, after the removal of Morsi last year, on thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters.

The court also sentenced another 12 militants to life in prison for charges of plotting against police and foreign missions and ships passing through the Suez Canal.

Reading the decision, Judge el-Shamy said the defendants "took Islam as a cover they hide under to sow seeds of sedition and deception and justify their crimes."

Following the verdict the defendants broke out in chants of "God is great" and held aloft pictures of Osama bin Laden, and banners promoting the establishment of an "Islamic Caliphate" in Egypt.

Some of those sentenced say they support the Islamic State group, which has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, but has not pledged formal allegiance to it.