Libyan Intel document bolstered by events in Egypt?

It would appear that the Libyan Intelligence document we referenced in our original report about an Egyptian connection to Benghazi, may have gotten another dose of credibility. According to a reputable Arabic source, an official with Egypt’s interior ministry has revealed that two individuals named in that Libyan Intelligence document have been arrested at Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City, a neighborhood in Cairo.

Via Asharq Al-Awsat:

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Egyptian interior ministry yesterday said “a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested following the security forces’ operation to clear pro-Mursi protesters from two squares in Cairo and Giza.”

Sources in the interior ministry, who asked to remain anonymous, did not reveal the names of those arrested but told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the names will be revealed as soon as the interrogation by Egyptian prosecution begins.”

Unconfirmed media reports yesterday said preacher and Brotherhood leader Safwat Higazi was arrested as he attempted to escape in disguise in a private car from Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square. Another Salafist preacher, Mohamed Hassan, was arrested while trying to set up a new protest with dozens of pro-Mursi protesters in the Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Giza. {emphasis ours}

Now, let’s take a look at a partial translation of the 9/15/12 document from the Libyan Interior ministry:

The most distinguished names that were obtained from the confessions by members of the cell, is the person, the President of Egypt, Muhammad Mursi, Safwat Hijazy and Saudi businessman Mansour Bin Kadasa, the owner of Al-Nas TV station, Muhammad Hassan, previous candidate Hazim Salah Abu-Ismael, Egyptian attorney named Mamdouh Ismael, Egyptian cleric Atef Abdul Rashid, and other personalities.

Libyan Intel document: Were terrorists involved in Benghazi arrested in Egypt?

Libyan Intel document: Were terrorists involved in Benghazi arrested in Egypt?

So, anonymous sources with the Egyptian interior ministry have confirmed arrests but not the identities of those arrested. If these unconfirmed reports about the arrests of Higazi and Hassan are correct, it would signify the arrests of two more individuals identified by the six Egyptians referred to in the Libyan Intelligence document dated 9/15/12 as being involved in the Benghazi attacks. According to that document, those six Egyptians identified Hijazi and Hassan as being involved (along with Mursi).

As if that weren’t enough to bolster the document, consider the details of a broadcast by reputable Egyptian television host Ahmed Moussa. During a broadcast last month, Moussa alleged that Ambassador Christopher Stevens’ “assassin” was holed up in the Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque with – among others – Safwat Hijazi.

On another note, take a look at the last paragraph from the Asharq Al-Awsat report:

In another development, security measures were strengthened yesterday around the Turra Prison after Brotherhood supporters tried to storm it. They were thought to be trying to free some of their leaders believed to be held at the prison, including Khairat El-Shater, first deputy of the general guide, and leader of the FJP Sa’ad El-Katatni, as well as Rashad El-Bayoumi, another leading member of the Brotherhood’s leadership.

This paragraph caught our attention for two primary reasons. One, a report that al-Shater’s son Saad claimed that his father’s safety is more important to Americans than is the safety of Mursi. Two, in the same report by Ahmed Moussa, the television host’s claims seemed to indicate that Khairat Al-Shater may be the more solid link between Egypt and Benghazi.

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