CAIRO, Sept 3: An Egyptian military court on Tuesday gave a life sentence to a Muslim Brotherhood member and sentenced 51 more to jail for “attacking” soldiers in Suez following

the coup by army chief Gen Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that overthrew first freely elected President Mohamed Morsi’s government.

The military court sentences came as army helicopters killed eight militants and wounded 15 in air strikes in the sensitive Sinai Peninsula bordering with Israel where it has battled since Mr Morsi was deposed on July 3.

President Morsi’s supporters had called for nationwide protests on Tuesday against his overthrow.

One Brotherhood member was given a life term — the first since the military overthrew President Morsi — three got 15 years in prison and 48 were sentenced to terms ranging from five to 10 years.

Twelve were acquitted, the army said.

The defendants were accused of “aggression” against the army in the canal port city of Suez last month. They were also accused of shooting at and using violence against the military in Suez on August 14 following a brutal military crackdown that day on Mr Morsi’s supporters in Cairo.

The military court had further accused the defendants of carrying guns and throwing petrol bombs at soldiers.

The military court delivered the verdict after two summary trials held on August 24 and 26.

On August 14, the brutal military crackdown on Brotherhood supporters in the capital’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque and Nahda square killed over 1,000 people. It was the deadliest military crackdown in Egypt’s recent history.

Since then, the military rulers have carried out a relentless pursuit of Brotherhood supporters in which more than 2,000 people have been killed and some 5,000 Brotherhood members arrested.

The Brotherhood’s supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, is also under arrest, and Mr Morsi himself has been in military custody since his ouster.

On Tuesday, a helicopter assault in the Sinai Peninsula killed eight Egyptian militants and wounded 15, security sources said.

They said air strikes near the Rafah Crossing into the Palestinian Gaza Strip were ongoing, adding that the target was “militants” using the area as a hideout.

The region has seen an increase in clashes between militants and security forces since President Morsi was deposed by the Egyptian military.

A security source told AFP the air operation was the “biggest aerial assault of its kind in Sinai”.

Witnesses said US-built Apache helicopters bombed several villages south of Rafah when the operation began at around 9:00 am (0700 GMT).

They said the raids wounded four people and destroyed six houses.

Egyptian militants have launched near-daily attacks on military and police facilities in Sinai, a region bordering with Israel and mostly populated by Bedouins who are often in conflict with the central authorities.

On August 19, militants killed 25 policemen in an attack on two buses heading for Rafah.

Meanwhile, troops sealed off roads to Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square ahead of planned Brotherhood marches, military-controlled state media reported.

The official MENA news agency reported military vehicles stationed at entrances to the northern Cairo square, an opposition symbol after the August 14 brutal military crackdown.

The measure comes after Morsi supporters called for nationwide demonstrations two months to the day since his overthrow.—AFP