Egyptian security forces kill 10 suspected militants in Cairo

CAIRO: Egypt’s security forces killed 10 suspected militants yesterday in a shootout during a raid on two apartments in central Cairo, two security sources said.

Three policemen were injured after one suspected militant detonated an explosive device to block their entry into the building and two other policemen were injured during the exchange of fire that followed.

One source said authorities received a tip off about the hideouts of the individuals, who they suspect of being members of Hasm, a group which has claimed several attacks around the Egyptian capital targeting judges and policemen since last year. Egypt accuses Hasm of being a militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group it outlawed in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this.

An Islamist insurgency in the rugged Sinai peninsula strengthened after the Egyptian military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The militant group staging the insurgency pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014. It is blamed for the killing of hundreds of soldiers and policemen, and has started to target other areas, including Egypt’s Christian Copts. — Reuters