The number of Christians abducted by the Islamic State group in northeastern Syria has risen to 220, as militants have rounded up more hostages from a chain of villages along a strategic river in the past three days, activists said Thursday.

Five bombs detonated in Giza early on Thursday morning, killing one and injuring at least 9 people.

Egypt's new Terrorist Entities Law has raised fears among some over its effectiveness while others believe it is necessary in the face of local and regional terrorism.

A Cairo court scheduled the verdict date for the trial of former president Mohamed Mursi and 130 others for May 16, during a session on Wednesday.

Seven suspected militants were killed and 12 more were injured in aerial raids on North Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah neighbourhoods early Wednesday, a military source said.

The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) posted a Wednesday picture of its Interpol-wanted head Yusuf al-Qaradawy, based in Qatar, with radical Egyptian cleric Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud in what appears to be a hospital, signaling that Abdel Maqsoud has returned to Qatar.

The Zagazig Criminal Court referred on Tuesday Islamist jihadist Adel Habara and seven others to Egypt's Grand Mufti to consider sentencing them to death for committing violence.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued Tuesday a presidential decree widening the state’s power against “terrorist suspects or entities” by specifying its definition of the word “terrorist.”

A juvenile court sentenced 10 members of the Ultras White Knights group to two years prison terms on Tuesday, the head of the group's defence team said.

“The coup is fighting a war against Islam in Egypt and the region,” Islamist political organisation the Salafi Front said.

The Alexandria Court of Urgent Matters resumed its sessions Tuesday, in a lawsuit demanding the banning of the 6 April Youth Movement and listing them as a “terrorist organisation”.

The association of the Sufi Orders of Alexandria has announced that it will officially field nine of its followers, including one woman, to run for individual seats in different constituencies in March's parliamentary elections, the Ahram Arabic website has reported.

Conflicting reports circulated Monday on militants marching in the middle of Sheikh Zuweid, urging residents to take their side against security forces in written leaflets handed to residents.

The social solidarity ministry on Monday dissolved 169 non-governmental organisations controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Yasser Borhamy, vice president of The Salafist Call dropped his lawsuit against Religious Endowment Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa Monday according to Youm7.

The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned Monday the trial in the case widely known as the “prison break” trial, against ousted president Mohamed Morsi and 130 others, to a 25 February session.

An urgent matters court in Alexandria turned down on Monday a case to list Egypt's Salafist Front and al-Jamaa al-Islamiya as "terrorist" organisations for lack of jurisdiction, reported state news agency MENA.

A military tribunal in Suez postponed on Monday the trial of Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie and 198 others accused of inciting violence to March 9.

Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said they were behind Sunday's twin bomb attacks on the residence of the Iranian ambassador in the Libyan capital and a rocket strike on the eastern Labraq airport, a group statement.