An Egyptian militant urged Muslims to launch jihad against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's "new pharaoh", in celebration of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Hisham al-Ashmawy called on Muslims to "fight [their enemy" in an audio recording attributed to him issued on an al Qaeda-affiliated forum on Monday, according to U.S.-based monitoring group SITE.
Ashmawy is reportedly the main suspect in the assassination of Egypt's top prosecutor last month.
He said in the recording that a "new pharaoh" has taken over Egypt, with his "army and magicians". Ashmawy accused Sisi of "using the ultimate forms of torture and torment of Muslims" and "using the magic of the media" to spread "lies and deceit," calling for jihad against him.
The militant, who once served among army ranks, said Jihad has now become obligatory on all Muslims.
Egypt has been battling a wave of militancy since the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, after mass protests against his rule. The majority of attacks target security forces.
The Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for the majority of attacks carried out in Sinai since mid-2013. The militant group changed its name to 'Sinai Province' last November, after pledging allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.
Ashmawy has formed a cell within the group, responsible for a militant attack on a security checkpoint in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid last October which left over 30 security personnel killed, according to Reuters.
