Nine ‘terrorists’ killed in 6th of October City raid by security forces

Nine alleged terrorists were killed in a shoot-out with the police in the Bashayer district of 6th of October City on Wednesday, according to a security source quoted in privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Al-Masry al-Youm reported that security forces raided an apartment where the alleged terrorists were staying, adding that among those killed was former member of parliament and lawyer Nasser al-Hafy, who was also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a statement to the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, General Magdy Abdel Aal said that nine armed men resisted arrest and fired at security forces. The news website added that three weapons, as well as a cache of ammunition and large sums of money, were also found in the apartment.

The Ministry of Interior issued a statement on Wednesday evening, stating that the ministry received information that fugitive Brotherhood leader Abdel Fattah Mohamed Ibrahim would be meeting a number of Brotherhood members in an apartment in 6th of October. According to the statement, during the raid the nine terrorists fired straightaway, leading to an exchange of fire with security forces, which lead to the death of Ibrahim and the others.

Following a search of the apartment, "three fire arms were confiscated, 132 bullets, LE43,700, several memory cards and several documents titled, ‘Decisiveness – Fight Them’,” the ministry's statement said. The documents purportedly referred to a “Day of Decisiveness,” calling upon members of the Brotherhood to be patient and execute more operations against "the military, police, the judiciary and media."  

Pro-Brotherhood channel Al-Jazeera Mubasher, on the other hand, cited a Brotherhood source as saying that the raid had attacked a committee meeting for the families of martyrs and detainees.

A Brotherhood source quoted in Al-Kelmety website meanwhile claimed the nine dead were in fact lawyers working on a defense case.

Reuters' Aswat Masriya mentioned these contradicting reports. According to the news website, quoting the head of Giza’s investigation bureau, General Mahmoud Farouk, 13 people were killed during the raid and members of the National Security Forces and Central Security Forces participated.

The website stated that Hafy and Abdel Fattah Mohamed Ibrahim, leader of the Brotherhood's Gharbiya chapter, were among those killed.

Late Wednesday, the Brotherhood responded with a statement describing the death of nine of its members as an “assassination," adding that the deceased were members of its legal and psychological support committee.

The statement said that the assassination marks the beginning of a new phase in which there would be no limit on those who would be oppressed, before claiming that the deceased were placed into custody inside the apartment and then murdered in cold blood — without investigation or charge.

The statement added that such a violent act only proves that "Egypt has become a country of outlawed gangs."

“The Muslim Brotherhood denounces murder and violence,” the statement said, adding that it holds President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi responsible for the incident.  

The raid follows a wave of terrorist attacks across the country in the past two days, culminating in a deadly attack on 15 military facilities and checkpoints in North Sinai starting Wednesday morning.

On Monday, Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat was assassinated close to his home after a car bomb detonated as he made his way into work.

A car bomb exploded close to 6th of October police station on Tuesday, killing three and injuring four. The Interior Ministry claimed that two of the fatalities were in fact carrying explosives in the car when it exploded.

Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the nationwide protests that led to the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi on June 30, 2013.