Egypt Arrests More Than 100 Terrorists In Raids

Egypt conducted raids on terror cells across the country yesterday and yielded over 100 arrests. Let's look at some of the details here from The Jerusalem Post:

Security forces are referring around 110 suspects to the supreme state security prosecution, security sources told the Egyptian independent newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yawm.
They said three cells, led by operatives from outside of Egypt, had allegedly planned bombings in three large cities and that they had espoused an ideology of takfir, or accusing others of infidelity.
Large quantities of explosives and weapons were found in the suspects' possession, as well as maps of official institutions in the country.

Now the article goes on to say that the Egyptians are trying to improve their position with America but I don't buy that totally - if you read the above quote, you'll see this:

They said three cells, led by operatives from outside of Egypt, ....

This has got to be worrying the Egyptians - these leaders of these cells are linked to al Qaeda and if you are the government of Egypt, you've got your issues with the Muslim Brotherhood right in your midst and add in a bunch of al Qaeda terrorists and you've got the makings of a very violent summer.

One other thing the article mentions is that these terror cells had been recruiting young fighters from local universities.

Egypt arrests over 100 terror suspects

Egyptian security forces recently arrested more than 100 people throughout the country who are suspected of plotting terror attacks.

Large quantities of explosives and weapons were found in the suspects' possession, as well as maps of official institutions in the country.

The suspects are also being accused of using mosques to propagate their ideology, trying to instill a Jihadist world-view in students from Al-Azhar University and recruiting them to carry out their plans.
The defendants deny the accusations against them.
Analysts said the arrests could very well be genuine attempts by Cairo to clamp down on al-Qaida-inspired terrorism, but caution there are likely to be political motives behind such arrests.
Mubarak's regime faces fierce criticism inside the country, compounded by the food crisis and price hikes of basic commodities.
Given the criticism, it stands to reason that Cairo would wish to deflect attention from these problems and these arrests come at an opportune time, analysts said.
Cairo is under pressure from the United States and Israel to reform its human rights situation after hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition group in Egypt, were arrested ahead of the local elections in April.
Egypt has also been accused of not doing enough to stop the smuggling of weapons and terrorists through tunnels from Sinai to the Gaza Strip.