Egypt's general prosecution has ordering the detention, pending investigations, of eight Egyptians for attempting to break into the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in the Cairo district of Muqattam.

Muslim Brotherhood members had formed 'popular committees' to protect their headquarters in the absence of sufficient police protection, with Egypt currently experiencing ongoing security challenges and a number of police strikes.

The Brotherhood office at Muqattam has a minimal security presence after police withdrew from its vicinity earlier this week.

The prosecution charged the accused with the possession of Molotov cocktails, illegal assembly and attempted vandalism. The accused denied all charges saying that they were wrongly arrested by popular committees in the area.