Police kill 9 in Egypt raid

CAIRO (AA) – Police forces killed nine gunmen in a shootout in southern Egypt on Monday, according to the country’s interior ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said police raided a mountainous cave in southern Egypt where a group of militants holed up.

The ministry said the militants opened fire on the security forces, which fired back, killing nine of them.

According to the statement, the militants had been planning attacks on vital facilities in Egypt.

Anadolu Agency could not verify the ministry's narrative from independent sources, but human rights groups accuse security forces of killing civilians during raids, a claim denied by the authorities.

Egypt has been battling a militant insurgency in recent years, particularly in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where scores of security forces were killed in attacks by Daesh-linked militant groups.