Army: 6 soldiers die in drive-by shooting in Mostorod

Six soldiers were killed by unidentified assailants early Saturday in a drive-by shooting at a military police checkpoint in Mostorod, close to the Cairo-Ismailia agricultural road, Armed Forces spokesperson Ahmed Ali said.

The official statement added that the assailants placed bombs at the checkpoint after the shooting, allegedly to target other forces that may come to the rescue.

Security forces told the state-owned Middle East News Agency that two bombs were defused, while a third was detonated by security forces as attempts to defuse it failed, without causing any damages or casualties.

The military spokesperson accused the recently banned Muslim Brotherhood group of carrying out the deadly attack in Qalyubiya Governorate.

The Egyptian government designated the Islamist group as a terrorist organization following a deadly attack on a security directorate in the northern city of Mansoura in late December.

"These cowardly terrorist operations will increase our will to continue our war on terrorism and to apprehend these armed criminal agents," Ali said in the statement.

Both the Cabinet and Al-Azhar condemned the attack in official statements, offering condolences to the families of those killed and promising to continue the fight against terrorism.