Prominent Egyptian Shia cleric, Sheikh Hassan Shehata, and four of his devotees have been martyred in a brutal attack carried out by Takfiri extremists in Giza Province near Cairo.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The attack was carried out on Sunday when a crowd of several hundred assailants attacked Sheikh Shehata’s home and then set it on fire at the village of Abu Mussalam.
Brutal scenes of the crime were broadcast on the internet late Sunday, and showed men dragging Sheikh Shahata’s body, which was covered with blood, on the street and beating him while chanting “Allahu Akbar”, without any apparent attempt by any side to stop them.
Reports said that dozens of the devotees who attended Sheikh Shahata’s house for commemorating the holy day were also injured, and that children were among the casualties.
Dr. Khaled Hamza, General Manager of Hawamdia Hospital in Giza, where the Sheikh was taken after the incident, said: “Initial medical reports reveal that when Sheikh Hassan Shehata arrived to the hospital, he appeared to be slaughtered from his neck, in addition to several injuries around his body,” adding that “the rest of the bodies had several injuries as well as skull fractures.”
Egypt’s security forces have been sent to the village to disperse the crowds and contain the situation.
The Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil has denounced the incident, saying he was closely following the investigation into the attack and promised that the culprits will be punished.
The incident comes a week after Takfiri clerics insulted Shia Muslims during a rally attended by the Egyptian president.
They were murdered by a gang of extremist Salafis who attacked the residence of the cleric in the town of Zawiyat Abu Muslim in Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo. Salafis also set fire to the house and beat up the people there.
The violent attack has drawn condemnations from different groups and figure.
Senior Egyptian opposition figure, Mohamed ElBaradei, has slammed the violence and called on the Egyptian authorities to act. He also earlier urged President Mohamed Morsi to resign ahead of mass anti-government
Last week, ElBaradei denounced the recent anti-Shia comments made at a pro-government conference in Cairo.
Addresing a rally of people who staged a sit-in protest outside the Egyptian ministry of culture, ElBaradei said a regime which insults the opposition and calls 150 million Shia Muslims ‘najis’ (unclean and impure) has no way but to relinquish power immediately.
The leader of the Addustour party said Egypt’s revolution has not ended yet and Egyptians will continue their revolutions to achieve their objectives.
