Egyptian police have killed eight suspected militants in shootouts in and around Cairo, the Interior Ministry said Thursday (December 20th).
It said those killed belonged to the Hasm group, adding that four others were arrested in a raid on a hideout in the capital, AFP reported.
The operations in Cairo and the capital's Giza district were based on intelligence of planned attacks during celebrations for Coptic Christmas, which is marked on January 7th, the ministry said in a statement.
The statement added that National Security investigations revealed that the members of the group had received orders via social media and mobile applications to target a number of public figures and vital state facilities, Ahram Online reported.
It did not give dates for the operations.
Hasm has claimed deadly attacks on security forces as well as assassination attempts targeting a pro-government cleric and Egypt's deputy prosecutor general.
