Eight plainclothes police officers were killed on Sunday morning in an armed attack that targeted a checkpoint operation near Helwan police station, according to a statement issued on the Interior Ministry’s official Facebook page directly after the attack.
“On Sunday morning while plainclothes officers from Helwan police station were operating a checkpoint in a minibus near their station on Omar Abdel Aziz Street, four anonymous militants driving a truck opened fire at the officers,” the statement read.
Both Islamic State (IS) and the ”Popular Resistance” movement, whose affiliation is unknown, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to a statement from IS on Sunday morning, the attack on the eight officers was carried out to get revenge for women being imprisoned.
“The attack resulted in killing all eight apostate police officers. Thanks to God, the Jihadists were able to seize the killed officers’ weapons and returned safely,” the statement read.
The attack was executed by four militants who hid inside the boot of the truck and then opened fire on the minibus. The attack resulted in the death of seven low-ranking police officers and one officer, according to the Interior Ministry.
The ”Popular Resistance” movement also claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued on its Facebook page. The group mentioned the names of the killed police officers before the official ministry statement.
“Young men from the ‘Popular Resistance’ movement carried out an ambush against the dogs of the Interior Ministry. We opened fire against them and left all of them dead,” the statement read.
Daily News Egypt cannot confirm the identity or affiliation of this movement.
“The attack was carried out to mark 1,000 days since the Rabaa Al-Adaweta massacre and is dedicated to the martyrs of this massacre,” the statement continued.
Rabaa Al-Adaweya Square was the focal point of the Muslim Brotherhood’s resistance against popular demands to oust former president Mohamed Morsi in June and July 2013. Al-Nahda square was also the site of another protest camp by supporters of the former president and Brotherhood.
Both protest camps at Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Nahda squares were forcibly dispersed, leaving a disputed number of deaths and injuries, with hundreds arrested in the aftermath.
The ”Popular Resistance” movement published a photo of an officer who was killed in the attack and alleged that they targeted him due to two incidents of rape.
“Two years ago, Mohamed Hamid raped two girls in Helwan Educational Administration building which we tried to blow up. We acquired information about his movements from his office,” the photo’s caption read.
