8 Egyptian policemen killed in S. Cairo attack

By Omar Azzam

CAIRO

At least eight Egyptian policemen were killed in a deadly attack in southern Cairo early Sunday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry has said.

In a statement, the ministry said that unidentified perpetrators had opened fire on a vehicle carrying police personnel in southern Cairo’s Helwan district.

"Eight police personnel, including an officer, were killed," the ministry said.

Sunday’s attack was swiftly claimed by the Daesh terrorist group.

In a statement circulated on Twitter, Daesh said its members had ambushed and killed eight Egyptian policemen in southern Cairo.

According to the statement, a number of weapons were seized during the attack.

Egypt has been hacked by turmoil and violence since the military unseated Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, in a 2013 military coup.