Police officer shot in Sharqiya, prisoner escape attempt in Tanta

Police faced more attacks and two conscripts were held hostage during an attempted prison escape attempt in Tanta on Tuesday.

Unknown assailants set fire to a police car parked in front of a mechanic’s workshop northwest of Cairo in Tanta city on Tuesday evening.

Earlier in the day, security forces in Tanta foiled a mass escape attempt by detainees at Tanta police station, Al-Wafd daily newspaper, published by the liberal Wafd Party, reported.

The detainees burned a set of blankets inside a cell during visitors’ hours and used the chaos to attempt escape. Two conscripts were held hostage inside the station’s cell.

Security forces deployed to the station fired gunshots into the air and cancelled all visits. The two conscripts were later released, according to privately owned daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Escape attempts by prisoners have been frequent since the January 2011 revolution.

Additionally, a low-ranking police officer died late Tuesday evening after being shot by an anonymous assailant on his way home from work in Sharqiya governorate, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

Abbas Hussein Selim, 46 years old, was dead on arrival at hospital as the result of a fatal gunshot to the head. The assailant managed to escape and has not yet been identified.

The country has been witnessing violence against security forces since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.