CAIRO, Egypt — Unidentified gunmen attacked an Egyptian police convoy near the main ring road around Cairo, killing three officers and wounding five others, the interior ministry said early on Tuesday.
“Armed elements riding in two vehicles approached a moving security convoy” around 11:45 p.m. Monday, the ministry said in a statement.
The convoy was crossing a roundabout that intersects with the main ring road that surrounds the capital, separating New Cairo and newer real estate projects from the city.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Free Sign Up
Police returned fire at the attackers’ vehicles, which police were pursuing “in an effort to apprehend the perpetrators,” the ministry said.
While no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Egypt has been fighting an insurgency by a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in North Sinai province.
Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed in the insurgency since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Following deadly church bombings last month, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency on April 10.
IS said it was behind the church bombings in Tanta and Alexandria on April 9 that killed 45 people.
The military has killed several of the group’s top leaders, but the jihadists have increasingly expanded their attacks from Sinai to other parts of Egypt, including Cairo.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel
I’ll tell you the truth: Life here in Israel isn’t always easy. But it's full of beauty and meaning.
I'm proud to work at The Times of Israel alongside colleagues who pour their hearts into their work day in, day out, to capture the complexity of this extraordinary place.
I believe our reporting sets an important tone of honesty and decency that's essential to understand what's really happening in Israel. It takes a lot of time, commitment and hard work from our team to get this right.
Your support, through membership in The Times of Israel Community, enables us to continue our work. Would you join our Community today?
Thank you,
Sarah Tuttle Singer, New Media Editor
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You’re serious. We appreciate that!
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we come to work every day - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
comments