A drive-by shooting near a Zagazig police station on Sunday critically wounded two police officers and ended in the death of one of the attackers.
In the vicinity of Zagazig’s first precinct, Sergeant Abduldaim Abdel Fattah and police secretary Hassan Mohamed were shot in the head and neck respectively, while a third officer, Sergeant Tamer Mohamed, returned fire and fatally wounded one of the attackers.
Ahmed Abel Rahman, 29, died of his injuries shortly after the event. Police identified him as a theology student at Al-Azhar’s Zagazig facility, and found him in possession of a hand grenade. The police were unable to apprehend the driver of the motorcycle, but a statement by the Ministry of Interior noted that “security agencies are intensifying their efforts to track down fugitive”.
Abduldaim Abdel Fattah, who was shot in the neck, is a member of the Homeland Security force.
Attacks on police officers have been frequent since Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on 3 July 2013. In February Sharqeya Governorate saw four similar attacks against security forces in one week alone, claiming the lives of three police officers.
After Major Mohamed Eid, also a Homeland Security officer, was killed on 24 February, then-Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi said such attacks reflect “the bankruptcy of terrorist elements”.
