Egyptian police shoot dead 16 suspected of having ISIS links
EGYPTIAN police have shot dead 16 gunmen in two shootouts, the Interior Ministry has confirmed, saying that most were suspected of having links to Islamic State (ISIS) and militant groups.
28 Christians killed in Egypt mass shooting
The ministry said that 14 gunmen were killed after the police were fired upon as they approached a desert training camp for militants in Ismailia.
The police officers returned fire, killing 14 militants, five of whom have been identified so far.
The ministry said in a statement: that the camp was being used to "subject (recruits) to military training programmes on the use of various types of firearms and manufacture explosive devices…”
In a separate incident the ministry also said a further two militants had been killed in an exchange of gunfire in the city of Giza.
A separate statement issued by the ministry described the two gunmen as “fugitive terrorists”.
It said that the men, who were inside an apartment, opened fire on security forces as soon as the officers approached to arrest them.
The ministry said the pair were members of a newly emerged militant group called Hasm, which claimed responsibility for the killing of a homeland security officer outside his home in Qalubiya, a province just north of Cairo, while on his way to prayers on Friday.
Hasm has claimed several attacks around Cairo targeting judges and policemen since last year.
Other militant groups such as Hasm, which the government says are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, are active in Cairo and other cities where they have targeted security forces, judges and pro-government figures.
The police action comes a day after at least 23 soldiers were killed and dozens injured when suicide car bombs drove through two military checkpoints in the Norther Sinai region in an attack that Isis later claimed responsibility for.
Among those killed in the attack on Friday – the deadliest on the country’s military this year – were five officers, including a high-ranking special forces colonel, Ahmed el-Mansi, according to officials.
The Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed in 2013 after the military ousted one of its leaders, Mohamed Mursi, from the presidency following mass protests. It maintains that it is a peaceful organisation.
Islamic State has also intensified attacks on security forces and Coptic Christian civilians in the mainland in recent months, killing about 100 Copts since December.