Egyptian police engage in deadly shootout with militants outside Cairo

Two suspected militants have been killed in an exchange of fire with Egyptian police in a province outside the capital Cairo.

Security officials said the militants were killed as police raided a hideout in the province of Qaliubya on Sunday.

The slain militants belonged to an outlawed outfit suspected of being behind the killing of a policeman in July.

Militants have stepped up attacks in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula and other parts of the country.

Late Saturday, two policemen were killed and six others injured after their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in the town of el-Arish in Sinai Peninsula. The policemen's death brought to 10 the total number of security personnel killed in separate attacks in el-Arish and the border town of Rafah over the course of the past three days.

The Egyptian military has been struggling to contain an insurgency by militants in northern Sinai.

SS