Two policemen killed, five injured in Egypt attack

A deadly attack on a checkpoint north of the Egyptian capital of Cairo claimed the lives of two police officers.

The incident occurred on Sunday when unidentified gunmen attacked the post in the country’s Northern province of Menoufia, located about 80 kilometers to the north of Cairo, state-run media MENA reported.

The agency said the assault left two policemen dead and another five people, comprising three officers and two civilians, wounded.

No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the Sunday attack, but such incidents are often blamed on militants affiliated with the Velayat Sinai terrorist group.

Over the past years, the militants have been carrying out terror activities across Egypt, taking advantage of the turmoil caused in the country after the first democratically-elected president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted from power by the military in July 2013.

Previously known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, the Velayat Sinai group has claimed responsibility for most of the fatal attacks mainly targeting the army and police in the capital and the volatile Sinai Peninsula.

Since September 2015, Egypt’s military has launched a large-scale security operation against the militants’ positions in Northern Sinai. The military says its anti-terror battle has led to the deaths of hundreds of troops and militants.

The terrorist group has pledged allegiance to the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh, which is mainly active in Iraq and Syria.

EA