Egyptian forces carry out four extrajudicial killings

Egyptian security forces killed four young men in the village of Atfih, in Giza governorate, accusing them of belonging to a militant organisation called Agnad Masr, or "Soldiers of Egypt".

The ministry of interior claimed in a statement that they possessed information concerning the organisation and those involved.

The ministry also alleged that the suspected leader of the organisation, Ahmed Galal Ismail - who was killed last month - had been involved in the groups planning of "terrorist operations" from a rented house in Atfih village and had been manufacturing explosives.

The four men, aged between 23-27, were killed after heavy fire from Egyptian troops. The ministry said that the raid was "handled carefully in order to preserve the safety of residents in the area".   

The ministry did not mention any causalities among security forces despite reporting that Egyptian security forced found automatic weapons in the house. 

The news comes following the discovery of Ahmed Galal Ismail's corpse with a gun shot in the head earlier this month. 

According to Ismail's family, he was arrested at a police checkpoint in Maadi on 19 January then forcedly disappeared.

Following the incident, Egypt's government affiliated National Council of Human Rights asked the ministry to investigate.

Agnad Masr, is a small militant group who were designated as terrorists in 2014. 

They target what they refer to as "criminal elements" in the Egyptian government and have claimed several attacks against security forces in Cairo since the 2013 military coup.

Egyptian security forces have been carrying out an increasing number of what have been deemed "extrajudicial executions" since the current Interior Minister Magdi Abd al-Ghaffar took office last year.

According to a report issued by the Egyptian Coalition for Rights and Freedoms, 3945 such extrajudicial killings took place between June 2013 and August 2015.