THE TOURIST CITY OF ASWAN WAS ALREADY TENSE following the murder of two policemen. Then, acting on a tip that antigovernment militants were secretly assembling, security forces surrounded the city's al-Rahman Mosque. Gunfire suddenly pierced the night and continued for hours. When it was over, 14 had been killed, including a policeman. Eight coordinated raids in the Cairo area and one north of the capital produced more shoot-outs and more casualties: a total of 23 dead and 46 injured, the highest toll since the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Coincidentally, 49 Muslim militants who have been charged with attacks on...
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