Egyptian policemen shot dead at checkpoint outside Cairo

Gunmen killed two Egyptian policemen and wounded five other people at a police checkpoint north of Cairo, authorities said.

Two civilians were among the wounded on Sunday's attack, the health ministry added.

 

The country's interior ministry said that the three gunmen arrived at the road block in a car without license plates in Sadat City.

The assailants' motives were not immediately, authorities said, although Egypt has witnessed numerous attacks against police and army positions by insurgent groups over the past few years.

The frequency of these incidents has intensified following the overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected president Mohamad Morsi in 2013.

Hundreds of Egyptian officers and troops are believed to have been killed in these attacks.

 

Egypt is currently battling an Islamic State group-affiliated offshoot in the restive Sinai Peninsular and referred over 100 individuals to military courts over links to the group.