The Egyptian police announced on Monday the death of 12 alleged militants in two separate shootouts in Giza and Cairo. It comes only 24 hours after 17 people were injured in a roadside bomb attack in Giza.
According to the ministry of interior, this came after the ministry had received information from the National Security Apparatus that “the Muslim Brotherhood group gave orders for the Hasm group to carry out operations in the country.”
The first raid, the ministry statement said, took place in Giza in the Sixth of October neighbourhood where seven militants were killed in an exchange of fire. The second was in Al-Shorouk neighbourhood where another five militants were killed in an exchange of fire. The identities and the charges of those militants were not published in the statement.
The statement added that the police found weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) where the militants were allegedly hiding.
Legal action has been taken and the State Security Prosecution will directly investigate the case.
Sunday’s attack included an IED attack on a tourist bus in the vicinity of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is still under construction, in Al-Haram district, Giza. No group has claimed the attack.
The military has been carrying out ‘Operation Sinai 2018’, a counter-terrorism campaign, since February 2018. The campaign involves land, naval, and air forces, as well as police and border guards.
