Egyptian Security Forces Kill 10 Suspected Terrorists in Cairo

Egyptian Security Forces Kill 10 Suspected Terrorists in Cairo
Egyptian soldiers stand guard on armoured personnel carriers, as Christian worshippers leave a stadium where Pope Francis led mass in the Egyptian capital Cairo on April 29, 2017. (KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Reuters
9/10/2017
Updated:
9/10/2017

CAIRO—Egypt’s security forces killed 10 suspected terrorists on Sunday in a shootout during a raid on two apartments in central Cairo, two security sources said.

Three policemen were injured after one suspected terrorist 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 terrorist 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 terrorist group staging the insurgency pledged allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group 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.

Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Writing by Nadine Awadalla