Egypt kills 10 Islamic State militants in gun battle inside capital of Cairo

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Egyptian policemen (in black) stand guard at the site of a gun battle with the militants in Giza's Ard al-Liwaa district, Egypt on Sept. 10, 2017. At least 10 terrorists were killed and nine policemen were wounded. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:17am, 11 Sep 2017Updated: 1:17am, 11 Sep 2017

Egypt said police on Sunday killed 10 militants who sneaked into the capital from the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, epicentre of an insurgency led by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

A statement by the Interior Ministry, which oversees security forces, said the militants were hiding in two flats in the densely populated Ard el-Liwa neighbourhood, where they held organisational meetings and planned a “series of terror attacks” in central provinces, a reference to Cairo and its twin city of Giza.

Egyptian policemen stand guard at the site of a gun battle with Islamic State fighters in Cairo. Photo: Xinhua

The presence of a cell of as many as 10 militants in a Cairo district not far from the heart of the city points to a determined effort by IS and other militant groups to stage deadly and potentially high-profile attacks in the national capital, which would shatter a fragile but relative sense of security in a city of some 20 million people.

The ministry’s statement said police simultaneously raided the flats at dawn. Militants in the first flat opened fire on the raiding force and one of them tried to throw an explosive device at the police, but it killed him instead, it added. All eight militants in the flat were killed.