Egypt's Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said the ministry formed a committee to revise presidential pardons granted to Islamist "extremists" by former Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi during his one year in office.

 

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ibrahim said the matter would be concluded promptly.

 

Soon after he was sworn into office, Morsi released tens of members of hard-line Islamist groups Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya and Islamic Jihad, both of which had orchestrated acts of violence against the state in the 1990s.

 

Previously, however, hundreds of other Islamists were released under the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), during the period separating the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Morsi's ascent to power in 2012.

 

Ibrahim also said police forces had apprehended Osama Kamel who, according to the minister, is the leader of Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis, the militant group which has claimed responsibility for a number of major attacks against Egypt's army and police in recent months.

 

Attacks targeting police and army troops since last summer’s ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi have left over 500 officers dead.