1 policeman killed, 3 injured in Fayoum revenge attack

One policeman died and three others were injured early Saturday morning when unknown gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a police truck commonly used to transfer prisoners on the Fayoum road. 

Preliminary investigations indicate that the car was transferring four police personnel to Kom Osheem security checkpoint on the Cairo-Fayoum desert road, when gunmen on a motorcycle shot at the policemen near Hegara Village for an extended period of time, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported. 

Policeman Mohamed Abdel Aal was shot in the neck, and policemen Aly Ahmed and Hamada Mohamed were also injured in the attack. The truck driver, Hussein Mohamed, was hit in the shoulder but continued to drive until he reached the checkpoint. According to news reports, the injured were taken to Fayoum General Hospital. Privately owned Youm7 reported that the injured were moved from Fayoum Hospital to Agouza Police Hospital for further medical attention. 

The party-affiliated Al-Wafd newspaper reported that that the truck was transferring prisoners from the New Valley governorate, but did not mention what happened to the prisoners after the attack.

This is the latest incident in what appears to be an ongoing vendetta between police and local militants in the area.

Six alleged militants died in a police raid on Friday in Abou Na'oura village, Snoros district, Fayoum — the same area in which the police truck was ambushed early on Saturday.

Youm7 reported that counterterrorism forces carried out the raid, after receiving intelligence that militants were hiding out in an agricultural area of the village. The newspaper stated that there was an exchange of fire, during which six assailants were killed. Explosive material was also allegedly confiscated in the raid.

The Fayoum Security Directorate denied the raid, but privately owned Sada al-Balad published graphic pictures of the dead militants.

The militants targeted in this raid were puportedly involved in several attacks on police personnel and the destruction of electricity towers, in addition to the killing of the daughter of a police officer on Monday. Four-year old Jessie and Ramy Ahmed, a lawyer, died in a shootout in Snoros. The police officer, who works at the Fayoum Security Directorate and is responsible for the transfer of detainees, was reportedly driving the car that was targeted, Youm 7 added.