The Ministry of Interior says militants on Tuesday killed three policemen and injured five others in a shooting in Cairo. The ministry in a statement said the attacks on security forces are common in Egypt’s northern Sinai, where the country is battling an Islamist insurgency, but targeted assaults in Cairo are rare.
The ministry said the shooting comes amid a campaign by militants to spread violence to the country’s mainland. It said the militants drove by and shot down police stationed at an intersection of the ring road, a busy Cairo expressway, in the city’s eastern neighbourhood of Nasr City. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It comes just weeks after two Islamic State suicide bombers killed at least 45 in deadly church bombings in Alexandria and Tanta, one of the bloodiest attacks the country has experienced in years. The attacks also comes three days after Pope Francis warned against religious fanaticism on Saturday, wrapping up a brief trip to Cairo.
