• 05:02
  • Monday ,26 June 2017
العربية

Egyptian police kill leading figure in Hasm militant group during shootout: Ministry

By-Ahram

Copts and Poliltical Islam

00:06

Monday ,26 June 2017

Egyptian police kill leading figure in Hasm militant group during shootout: Ministry

Egypt s Ministry of Interior said on Friday that police have killed one of the leaders of militant group Hasm in 6 October city during a shootout.

A statement on the ministry s Facebook page said that the National Security Agency received information that a meeting of Hasm, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the state, was set to be held in the area of Wahat Road.

According to the statement, after securing the prosecution s permission police combed the area, and when they approached two parked cars those inside shot at officers. The officers fired back, killing 38-year-old Mohamed Abdel-Moneim Zaki Abo Tabikh, who is wanted in a terror-related case.

On Sunday, Hasm claimed responsibility for an attack on a police checkpoint earlier that day in Maadi, Cairo which killed one policeman and injured four others.

Hasm has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Egyptian security personnel, mostly at security checkpoints.

Egyptian security forces have arrested dozens of suspected Hasm members in the past few months.

According to interior ministry officials, the group is linked to the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation.