No Armenian citizen among IS members arrested in Egypt: Foreign Ministry

Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan has dismissed reports on the arrest of an Armenian national in Egypt.

Five foreigners and one Egyptian were arrested for joining “Islamic State” Monday, the reported.

The six individuals are accused of volunteering to join IS, conducting acts of sabotage, and harming the country’s economic and social interests.

The defendants were identified as former army officer Ishan Jan from Tajikstan, Ali Akbr Abduallah from Serbia, Akhbar Yan Ali Tan from Belarus, Mohamed Share Ali, 44, a businessman from Armenia, Mohamed Bahaai from Iran, Bashar Ali Abduallah Al-Ansary from Syria, and Mohamed Faaz from Egypt.

The security forces arrested them inside a car while they were monitoring the Giza Pyramids area. The security forces seized six laptop devices with them, with IS and Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis logos, Egyptian police and armed forces uniforms, daggers, rifles, and Egyptian and foreign currency, according to state newspaper Al-Ahram.

The Armenian Embassy in Egypt requested clarifications from authorized bodies, Tigran Balayan said.

“Egypt authorities confirmed to Armenia Embassy in Cairo that there is no citizen of Armenia among the arrested members of the Islamic State,” the Spokesman said in a Twitter post.