Egyptian authorities have arrested Ali Mahmoud Mohammed Abdel Wanis, a senior leader within the MB-linked Hasm terror group, for his role in a plot to target the presidential aircraft with shoulder-fired missiles and his involvement in multiple militant operations against the state, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry announced it had thwarted a plan by the Hasm movement, which it identifies as an armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, aimed at damaging state assets. During a raid on a hideout in Giza province, security forces engaged in a shootout that left two movement members dead. The ministry identified the deceased as Mahmoud Shehta Ali al-Jad and Mustafa Ahmed Mohammed Abdel Wahab. One civilian was killed and a police officer was injured during the exchange of fire, according to the official statement.
The arrested leader, Ali Mahmoud Mohammed Abdel Wanis, was already facing a life sentence in several terrorism-related cases. The ministry detailed a failed attempt in July to target the presidential plane using SAM-7 shoulder-fired missiles, a plan it said was orchestrated by Hasm leadership.
In recorded confessions, Wanis, 34, stated he joined the Muslim Brotherhood during his studies at Al-Azhar University and was later tasked with joining its “specialised operations” committee. He detailed travelling to the Gaza Strip through a tunnel in 2014, where he received four months of military training in explosives, sniping, and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
Wanis admitted to overseeing or participating in several high-profile attacks, including:
* The bombing of a police training centre in Tanta, resulting in multiple casualties.
* The assassination of Brigadier General Adel Ragai outside his home in Obour City.
* The 2019 bombing outside the National Cancer Institute in Cairo involving booby-trapped vehicles.
The ministry statement said Hasm leaders based abroad, including Yahya Moussa and Alaa al-Samahi, recently attempted to escalate operations in 2025 by sending militants back to Egypt. These elements were monitored and arrested by security forces before they could carry out any attacks.
The investigation revealed that the movement collaborated with the Al-Murabitun group, founded by the executed militant Hisham Ashmawy, to establish a training camp in Egypt’s Western Desert. Wanis claimed he was instructed by Yahya Moussa to train elements on SAM-7 and SAM-17 anti-aircraft missiles for the specific purpose of targeting the presidential plane, though he noted that Al-Murabitun already had members trained for the task.
The Interior Ministry also highlighted the role of the “Midan Foundation,” described as Hasm’s political and media arm. According to Wanis’s confession, this platform was established by leaders including Yahya Moussa, Reda Fahmy, and Mohammed Manna to spread “lies and rumours” to incite youth and destabilise the state. He alleged that Mustafa Abdel Razek, an employee at a prominent foreign media outlet, provided funding to recruit youth for a new strategy of “Islamic opposition” actions.
Wanis further claimed that Helmy al-Gazzar assisted him in obtaining a visa and a passport for $10,000 to facilitate his movement. He also mentioned a “media and leaks” committee, led by individuals including Sohaib Abdel Maqsoud and Abdel Rahman al-Shannaf, which aimed to gather data on state employees and manipulate public opinion through news sites that appeared pro-state but intended to “shake confidence” in the government.
In his concluding remarks, Wanis described the conflict as a “war for power and chairs” rather than religion, stating that it was not worth a single drop of blood. “I say to the leaders of the armed organisation… enough. Enough of the lives of the young people you have wasted,” Wanis said, adding that he felt his own life had been wasted in pursuit of a “void idea.”
State security prosecutors have taken over the investigation. The Interior Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to “firmly confront” all plots by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters that target the security and stability of the country.
