Egypt: 35 Police, Troops Die in Clashes with Terrorists
Local Editor
At least 35 Egyptian troops and police lost their lives in clashes with terrorists in the Bahariya oasis in the country's Western Desert late on Friday, security and medical sources reported.
An interior ministry statement confirmed the incident and said some of the attackers had died, without giving any figures for casualties or further details.
Security forces, who are hunting down terrorists in the region, were ambushed late Friday on a road to the Bahariya oasis, some 200 kilometers southeast of Cairo, according to the interior ministry statement.
According to a source close to the security services, the convoy was hit by rocket fire. The attackers also used explosive devices.
There has not yet been a claim of responsibility. A false claim by the small extremist group Hasm, reported by multiple local media, spread on social media soon after the attack.
But the group's official Twitter feed, where it routinely shares statements, has been dormant since October 2.
Since the army removed President Mohamed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood, extremist groups increased their attacks on the country's military and police.
The Brotherhood, once Egypt's largest opposition movement, has long denied involvement in violence.
Morsi was elected as Egypt's first civilian president in 2012, but the army overthrew him a year later following mass protests against his divisive rule.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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