Gunmen Kill 8 Egyptian Policemen South of Cairo


Gunmen Kill 8 Egyptian Policemen South of Cairo

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Gunmen shot dead eight plain-clothed Egyptian policemen in the Helwan district south of Cairo, the interior ministry said Sunday.

The policemen were travelling in a minivan when the assailants in a pickup truck blocked their path and sprayed the vehicle with automatic rifle fire, the ministry said, AFP reported.

Takfiri terrorists, including Daesh (also known as ISIL and ISIS) militants, have reportedly killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula and also in and around Cairo.

Egyptian criminal gangs have also killed policemen in shoot outs, but the attack bore the hallmarks of the terrorists who have waged an insurgency since the military overthrew president Mursi in 2013.

The interior ministry said the dead included a lieutenant and seven lower ranking policemen who were patrolling the area just south of the capital when they were ambushed late at night.

The Takfiri militants had struck before in Helwan, killing a policeman standing guard outside a museum in June 2015.

They have claimed several attacks in Cairo, including an attempted assassination of the interior minister in late 2013 and the bombing of the Italian consulate in July 2015.

More recently militants have conducted hit and run attacks on policemen in Cairo and small scale bombings.

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