Diplomats in the region are urging the government to be magnanimous and reach out to the former Islamist leaders.

With the war going badly for them, clan elders had been rapidly losing faith in the Islamist leaders, residents said.

A few weeks later, American forces struck again, trying to kill a militant Islamist leader.

Meanwhile, Islamist leaders continued to insist that they had not been defeated.

Surely its Islamist leaders seem themselves that way.

On Sunday, after the bombings, Islamist leaders boasted of bringing in more.

The fighting pits the capital's notorious warlords against Islamist leaders trying to turn the country into a religious state.

By distancing themselves from the use of violence, the Islamist leaders hoped to move towards eventual legalization of the party.

A moderate Islamist leader would be a natural choice for many of Egypt's culturally and religiously conservative majority.

Tensions rose, and after rioting many of the Islamist leaders were arrested.