Egyptian police colonel and conscript killed by IS

A police colonel and conscript have been shot dead by the Islamic State group in the Egyptian capital, highlighting growing fears the extremist organisation has extended its reach to Cairo.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

09 January, 2016

In August, IS claimed a massive attack on an Egyptian state security building [AFP]

The Islamic State group (IS) said its gunmen shot dead an Egyptian police colonel and a conscript west of Cairo as they travelled to work on Saturday.

The colonel, a traffic police district commander, and the conscript, who was driving, died in their car after coming under fire by unknown assailants, the interior ministry had said.

In a statement posted on Twitter, IS said its militants opened had fire on three vehicles in the colonel's convoy.

The group's Egypt affiliate has claimed credit in the past for similar attacks in the capital and the Sinai Peninsula, where its insurgency is based.

The militants have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and cracked down on his followers.

In August 2015, IS issued a statement claiming responsibility for a massive car bomb explosion that targetd an Egyptian state security building and courthouse, wounding at least 29 people.

They also claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has vowed to eradicate militancy, which he has said is an existential threat to the Arab world and the West.