DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A group of 11 Egyptian nationals, believed to have links with the Muslim Brotherhood, have been detained in the United Arab Emirates.
The arrests come as part of an apparent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group tied to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, over fears that the organization is attempting to undermine the oil-rich monarchies in the Persian Gulf.
The detainees allegedly carried out fundraising for the Muslim Brotherhood and gathered intelligence on the defense capabilities of the United Arab Emirates, according to the Arabic daily Al-Khaleej.
Local media outlet The National first reported on the incident, informed by an unnamed source. It is unclear whether these reported arrests are related to an official statement put out last week by state news agency WAM that authorities in both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had arrested a terrorist cell that was plotting attacks.
The statement at the time did not mention the affiliation of the cell, instead referring to them as “the deviant group”—which local press interpreted as al-Qaeda.
It was reported that the latest arrests were related to “serious information on conspiracies that were hatched against UAE state security,” according to Al-Khaleej.
Earlier last year, the United Arab Emirates announced it had arrested 60 members of Al Islah, the local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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