Group: Egyptian ex-army officer was suicide bomber

[October 26, 2013]  CAIRO (AP) -- Al-Qaida-inspired militants say the suicide bomber who carried out a failed assassination attempt on Egypt's interior minister last month was a sacked military officer.

A video posted Saturday on militant websites in the name of the Ansar Jerusalem shows a man identified as Waleed Badr, who wears a major's uniform. He says in the video that the Egyptian army is "bent on fighting religion" and "loves America" more than Egyptians.

A narrator says Badr, who graduated from the military academy in 1991, was fired from the army and joined militants in Afghanistan and in Syria. He also tried to go to Iraq but was arrested in Iran and spent a year in prison. There were no dates for these events.

The group had already claimed responsibility for the attack.

[Associated Press]

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