4 people arrested after shoe-attack on Ahmadinejad

RT News

Four people arrested after Ahmadinejad shoe-attack in Cairo 

Three Egyptians and a Syrian were arrested for trying to attack Iranian President Ahmadinejad in front of Al-Hussein mosque in Cairo. The leader is in the Egyptian capital on a visit.A video shot by a Turkish cameraman shows a young man shouting at Ahmadinejad and trying to hit the president's head with a shoe, instead striking one of his bodyguards.

Security sources told Reuters that the three Egyptians were all members of al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, a hardline Islamist group.

The four men were detained on suspicion of trying to attack the President, the security sources said. The men were held overnight but released on bail of 500 Egyptian pounds ($75) each on Wednesday.

The Syrian attacker was heard chanting anti-Iranian slogans for supporting the Syrian government, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported.

The Iranian leader’s three-day visit has been described as the latest sign of improved relations between the Tehran and Cairo after the 2011 uprising that ousted Egypt's longtime ruler, President Hosni Mubarak and brought an Islamist government to power.

Following his arrival, the Iranian president and his Egyptian counterpart held a 20-minute talk focusing on the civil war in Syria, AP reported quoting unnamed security officials. Historically, both countries have stood opposed on the question of Syria, with Iran being Damascus' closest regional ally and Egypt supporting calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.

Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived in protest-stricken Cairo to attend the Islamic Solidarity Organization conference. It’s the first visit of an Iranian leader to Egypt since 1979.