The authorities announced on 30 September that 900 members of the militant Islamist group Gamaat Islamiya had been released. News of the mass release came a day after Cairo said that it had released Karam Zohdy, who masterminded the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Security sources in the country confirmed that among those freed were senior members of the group, including Mamdouh al-Yousef. The security forces did not confirm when the prisoners had been released or where they were (MEED 29:9:03).