Egypt court ratifies 'IS' death sentences

Cairo: A court in Egypt on Saturday ratified death sentences for 12 people convicted of planning attacks on behalf of the jihadist Islamic State group.

Six of those whose sentences were confirmed are in custody, while six were tried in absentia.

All were convicted of having joined IS -- which has declared a "caliphate" in parts of Iraq and Syria under its control -- and of plotting to attack Egypt's police force and military.

The court in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya had recommended the death sentence for the men last month, and was awaiting the mufti's approval to ratify the ruling.

The mufti, the government's official interpreter of Islamic law, issues a non-binding opinion in such cases.

Those convicted can appeal a ruling before the Court of Cassation, which may either uphold the verdict or order a retrial.

Hundreds of Islamists have been sentenced to death since the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Many, including Morsi himself, have appealed.

Seven have been executed.

Morsi's overthrow unleashed a deadly crackdown on Islamists that killed hundreds of protesters.

Militants loyal to IS, meanwhile, have killed hundreds of police and soldiers, mostly in attacks in the Sinai Peninsula.