Egypt Hangs Murderer of Leila Ghofran's Daughter

Egypt on Thursday hanged a man convicted of murdering the daughter of Leila Ghofran and her friend six years ago during a bungled burglary, security officials said.

The November 2008 murder of Heba al-Akkad, the 23-year-old daughter of the Moroccan singer, and her friend Nadine Gamal in an affluent Cairo suburb had sparked a massive hunt for the killer.

A blacksmith was arrested in connection with the murders, with police saying at the time he had entered Akkad's apartment with the intention of stealing money and had killed her and Gamal.

The man was sentenced to death in 2010 and executed Thursday at the Wadi al-Natrun prison.

Egypt applies the death penalty infrequently.

But since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, hundreds of his supporters have been sentenced to death in speedy mass trials that have sparked an international outcry.