Egypt welcomes US designation of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis as terrorist

The Egyptian foreign ministry “welcomes” the designation of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis by the US as a "foreign terrorist organisation" and will legally prove the link between the group and the Muslim Brotherhood, a foreign ministry spokesman, Badr Abdel-Atty, told Ahram Online.

On Wednesday, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly bombings in Egypt that have taken place since the ouster of Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi last summer.

The Egyptian government has said that the Muslim Brotherhood is involved in supporting militant attacks, and last year declared the group a terrorist organisation. The designation was upheld by a court in February.

The Brotherhood has denied any connection with militant attacks in Egypt

Abdel-Atty said that Egypt is in contact with many countries to give them a full context about seriousness of the situation in Egypt.

"We will be providing all necessary documents so that all the countries would help Egypt to counter terrorism," said Abdel-Atty.

The spokesman said that the country is making all efforts to provide information about the link between the militant group and the Muslim Brotherhood.

However, according to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, a high ranking official at the US Department of State denied the existence of any links between the Brotherhood and the militant group.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood to determine if the group has links with violent extremism.