Cairo: Spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Badie has been arrested in Cairo, Egyptian officials said today.
He was detained at a residential flat in Nasr City section of the capital, where supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi had held a six-week sit-in protest that was cleared by security force last Wednesday, according to reports.
The arrest comes in the wake of authorities pursing a crackdown on the Brotherhood, Morsi's party, which has triggered violent protests and attracted international condemnation.
Badie's arrest also follows just a day after 25 policemen were killed when militants ambushed them in the border city of Rafah.
Photos circulated on social media showed Badie, dressed in a traditional white robe, sitting between two policemen wearing bulletproof vests in what looked like a police van, Ahram Online said.
Egyptian satellite channel ONTV later broadcast live footage showing the 70-year-old sitting on a couch in an unidentified location after being captured.
A policeman holding a rifle was seen standing next to him. Over 850 people are reported to have been killed so far following a tense standoff between the army-backed government and pro-Morsi supporters after the former President was ousted in coup earlier by the army.
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