Top Imams of outlawed Muslim brotherhood arrested by officials

oge okonkwo

June 2, 2015 1:10 PM

The group's top religious cleric, and Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Brotherhood's former spokesman and a member of its top decision-making body, were hiding in a Giza suburb when they were arrested

Egyptian police in Cairo on August 14, 2014, during clashes with Muslim Brotherhood supporters following a rally marking the first anniversary of a brutal Cairo crackdown

An Egyptian security official says authorities arrested two top leaders of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood - once the country's most influential political group, after two years on the run.

The official says Abdel-Rahman el-Bar, the group's top religious cleric, and Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Brotherhood's former spokesman and a member of its top decision-making body, were hiding in a Giza suburb when they were arrested on Monday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, Associated Press reports.

Egyptian authorities launched a massive crackdown on the 87-year-old Brotherhood after the ouster of Islamist President, Mohammed Morsi, by the military in July 2013.

Morsi, who hails from the Brotherhood, was overthrown after millions staged demonstrations demanding he step down.

oge okonkwo