FBIS4-21767 "jptot014__l94067"
JPRS-TOT-94-014-L JPRS Terrorism
FOUO 25 March 1994 NEAR EAST/SOUTH ASIA EGYPT

Islamic Group Promises To `Avenge' Deaths of Eight Members

Islamic Group Promises To `Avenge' Deaths of Eight Members NC2503201594 Paris AFP in English 1945 GMT 25 Mar 94 NC2503201594 Paris AFP English BFN [Text] Cairo, March 25 (AFP) -- An outlawed Islamic militant group warned Friday it would avenge the deaths of eight of its members who it said were ``liquidated'' by police. The al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah (Islamic Group) said in a statement sent to AFP that the eight were killed after five policemen were shot dead last Sunday by al-Jama'ah militants in Sedfa, in the troubled southern province of Asyut. The group said two militants were killed by police in fields, three died in a shootout in Balayza village in Asyut province, and three others were arrested at home in the same region then shot by police, who dumped their bodies next to the Balayza victims, saying all six died in the same gunbattle. The al-Jama'ah said police had adopted a new tactic of releasing detained militants and ``liquidating'' them allegedly for taking part in attacks. It called on human rights organisations to put pressure on the authorities ``to stop such practices.'' Islamic militants have targeted the security forces, foreigners and Coptic Christians in their two-year campaign to destabilise the country and topple the secular government of President Husni Mubarak. More than 300 people have died in the unrest.