Egypt says 7 militants killed in Cairo shootouts

CAIRO — Egypt’s Interior Ministry says security forces have killed seven members of a militant group with suspected links to the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo shootouts.

The ministry says three militants were killed on a highway known as Ring Road in Cairo’s district of Giza while the remaining four were killed in a firefight when police raided their hideout in the Egyptian capital’s suburb of Sixth of October on Thursday morning.

The ministry says weapons and ammunition were found among the militants’ possessions. A police officer was wounded.

Egypt, which has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, has been battling Islamic militants for years.

The insurgency gained strength after the 2013 overthrow of elected but divisive Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Militants mainly target security forces and minority Christians.

— AP