CAIRO — The ongoing struggle between Egyptian authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood took a new turn Aug. 28 when the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of the Brotherhood’s acting general guide and acting leader Mahmoud Ezzat inside an apartment in the Fifth Settlement district of New Cairo. Pro-regime media quickly described the arrest as a “valuable catch,” and considered it the end of the organization that has exhausted the authorities since the events of July 3, 2013, that ended Brotherhood rule in Egypt.

The Interior Ministry statement said Ezzat oversaw the management of terrorist and sabotage operations that the Brotherhood carried out over the years, namely the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat in a 2015 car bombing and the 2016 assassination attempt on Assistant Prosecutor General Zakaria Abdel Aziz, also via a car bombing. The ministry said Ezzat was responsible for managing the organization’s funds, supporting and financing suspicious international organizations and using them to offend the country and exert pressure on it.

The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement Aug. 29, saying that it will carry on and that the organization remains committed to its principles and will not deviate or stray from its path, whatever the sacrifices and consequences.

On Aug. 25, Ibrahim Munir, the Brotherhood’s deputy general guide, had launched a fierce attack against Egyptian authorities in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying, “Recent months have shown that the regime’s role in the region has come to an end, leaving it standing on the ruins of the chaos it has brought upon Egypt.” He stressed the organization’s absolute refusal to conclude any deals to reconcile with authorities.