People pray at a mosque once used as headquarters for bloody insurgency in Assiut, southern Egypt

In this Sunday, March 17, 2013 photo, an Egyptian man walks past banners hung up by members of Gamaa Islamiya in front of el-Gamaayah el-Sharaayah mosque also used as Gamaa’s headquarters, not pictured, in Assiut, southern Egypt. The Gamaa says its move is in response to a strike last week by some of the police in Assiut. The group unilaterally declared it would set up popular committees to carry out security duties in the police’s absence. Riding on motorbikes and waving banners, hundreds of Gamaa supporters toured the city last week to assure residents that the group was capable of maintaining law and order if the strike continues or spreads. The banner, top center, shows Egyptian spiritual leader Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is currently imprisoned in the US.

In this Sunday, March 17, 2013 photo, Tareq Bedeir, al Gamaa Islamiya’s leader in Assiut, removes a poster before attending Asr, afternoon prayer, at the el-Gamaayah el-Sharaayah mosque also used as Gamaa Islamiya’s headquarters, in Assiut, southern Egypt.

In this Sunday, March 17, 2013 photo, Egyptian men and boys pray, at the el-Gamaayah el-Sharaayah mosque also used as Gamaa Islamiya’s headquarters, in Assiut, southern Egypt. The Gamaa Islamiya once waged a bloody insurgency, attacking police and Christians in a campaign to create an Islamic state. Now a political force, the former jihadis say they are setting up their own parallel police and are determined to ensure law and order in this southern Egyptian province. <AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty>