Egypt security official says nearly 10,000 detained in crackdown on militants, rioters

CAIRO – A senior Egyptian interior ministry official says the country's security forces have detained nearly 10,000 suspected militants, rioters and others wanted in violent attacks over the past 12 months in a crackdown on those he said were attempting to curtail Egypt's development.

Major Gen. Abdel-Fattah Osman, an aide to the interior minister, spoke to the official news agency MENA in an interview published Saturday.

Osman said security forces have foiled about 400 terrorist attacks since January. He said the security forces also arrested 460 suspected members of terrorist cells, 6,400 rioters, 50 wanted militants, and some 2,600 accused of attacking police stations. Since the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013, authorities have cracked down on Islamists, and other opponents, amid a surge in attacks on troops.