Police kill 2 alleged members of Ajnad Misr in Maadi apartment raid

Security forces killed two people identified as terrorists in the southeast Cairo district of Hadayek al-Maadi on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement posted to its official Facebook page.

The statement claimed the casualties were top members of the militant group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt). The group was legally declared a terrorist organization in 2014 and has claimed responsibility for several high-profile bombings and attacks on security forces over the past two years. In statements, the group has said it aims to take out “criminal” elements in the security apparatus, particularly officials responsible for protester deaths.

The two people were allegedly killed in a gunfight that erupted when security forces closed in on an apartment the ministry said Ajnad Misr was using as a hideout, a facility to make bombs and a planning center for terrorist operations.

The exchange of automatic fire could be heard across Maadi in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The gun battle went on for nearly six hours, according to the ministry statement, which did not note any police or civilian casualties.

The Interior Ministry said the apartment was located on Imam Hassan Ali Street, off of Abdel Hameed Mekki Street, near the residential Basateen district. Several local news outlets reported police forces sealed off large areas around Hadayek al-Maadi during and after the gunfight.

Following the exchange of fire, police seized a cache of weapons from the apartment that included pistols, machine guns, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, improvised explosive devices and bomb-making materials, the Interior Ministry said.

The suspects were planning attacks on public officials, politicians and members of the police and Armed Forces, the statement concluded. It provided no further details on the planned attacks, but said the ministry had informed the prosecutor general of the plans. Prosecutors are now expected to conduct investigations into the claims.

Areas subject to army or police operations are highly restricted and nearly impossible for media outlets to access in order to independently verify such incidents.