Muslim Brotherhood members gather in front th
Muslim Brotherhood members gather in front thAFP photo

Egyptian security forces arrested Muslim Brotherhood leading figure Saad El-Husseini on Monday, reported the website of the Al-Ahram daily newspaper.

The arrest is part of an ongoing crackdown on the Islamist group's members, following the ouster of former president Mohammed Morsi in July.

El-Husseini was located and taken from a house in the district of New Cairo on the outskirts of the capital on Monday evening.

The 54-year-old El-Husseini is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau – the group's highest administrative board – and a senior member in the group's Freedom and Justice Party, according to Al-Ahram.

He is also the former governor of the Delta governorate of Kafr El-Sheikh.

Dozens of leading Brotherhood figures, including the group's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, and hundreds of members of the group have been arrested since security forces dispersed two large pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo on August 14, during which hundreds were killed.

Most of the Brotherhood leaders who have been arrested over the last few weeks have been accused of inciting violence during clashes that broke out in the wake of the ouster of Morsi.

Egypt's state prosecutor said on Sunday he has referred Morsi for trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters.

The accusations relate to violence outside the presidential palace in Cairo last December when seven people were killed in clashes.