UNCLAS CAIRO 002998

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PTER PGOV PREL EG
SUBJECT: EGYPT: ALLEGED PLANS TO ATTACK IBN KHALDOUN CENTER
THWARTED



1. (SBU) Independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm published a
front-page, above the fold article on October 9 stating that
GoE security services had arrested 62 members of a group
affiliated with terrorist organization Takfir wa al-Higra,
and accused them plotting to blow up the Ibn Khaldoun Center
(IKC), headed by democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
According to press reports, the group planned to use a car
bomb, and had targeted the IKC because of its links to
"foreign elements," including the United States. The reports
also claimed that the group had been influenced by
"extremists abroad," and that some of the accused had been
planning to go to Iraq for jihad, and some had tried to
travel to Syria a few days before, but had been prevented
from doing so by Syrian authorities.


2. (SBU) IKC staff did not respond to our October 9 inquiries
regarding the allegations. We will follow up and will report
more details as we learn them.
RICCIARDONE