An Egyptian police officer was wounded and seven suspected militants were killed Thursday (March 7th) in a firefight and raid in the capital Cairo, AFP reported.
Militants opened fire on security forces at a checkpoint on the southern part of the city's ring road, leaving one officer wounded and three attackers dead, the interior ministry said.
"The militants driving a pick-up truck disguised in electricians' work clothes were planning a hostile act planting a bomb in Giza," the statement said.
An explosive device, guns and electric cables were found in the truck, the ministry said.
Checkpoints had been set up in response to intelligence that militants "had been planning a series of attacks with the aim of sowing chaos".
Four other suspected militants were killed in a raid on an apartment in the southern outskirts of Cairo, where bomb-making material and weapons were found, the interior ministry said.
The government said those killed in both incidents were part of the militant Hasm group.
The Hasm group emerged in 2016 and has in the past claimed responsibility for several attacks including those against judges and police officers.
