CAIRO – More than two dozen off-duty police recruits were slain by gunmen in the restive Sinai peninsula on Monday, Egyptian authorities said, the worst attack in decades in the volatile territory that borders Israel.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said police recruits were returning from leave to their jobs in the border town of Rafah when the gunmen opened fire in broad daylight. The militants ordered the recruits out of two mini-buses and forced them to lie on the ground before shooting them, officials told the Associated Press.
The police officers were dressed in civilian clothes, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which left 25 dead and two wounded, the wire service said.
Just a day earlier, 36 people who had been detained at demonstrations in support of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president were killed by police officers while they were being transferred to a prison north of Cairo. Egyptian authorities said the prisoners died during an attempted jailbreak.
The two incidents highlighted the instability that has spread through Egypt since the miliary-orchestrated ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first elected president. Morsi, an Islamist, was removed from power six weeks ago, following massive demonstrations against him.
Also Monday, a lawyer for former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was forced from power in the 2011 popular uprising that ultimately led to Morsi’s election, said his client could be released from jail within the next couple of days.
Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for decades, has been charged with corruption and with killing protesters in the 2011 uprising. But a judge on Monday apparently ordered his release in at least one of the cases, the lawyer told Reuters. The Associated Press, quoting unnamed court officials, also said it was possible that the former autocrat would soon be freed.
Since Morsi’s ouster on July 3, Islamist militants have stepped up their attacks on the military and police forces stationed in the Sinai. Shootings of security forces have become a near-daily occurrence, even as political violence has engulfed other parts of the country and police and security forces have launched a lethal crackdown on pro-Morsi demonstrators.
More than 800 civilians and dozens of members of the security forces have been killed in violence since Wednesday. The state-run Middle East News Agency reported that 79 of the deaths occurred Saturday.
The detainees killed on Sunday were shot while being transferred to a prison in Qalyubia, north of Cairo, according to the Interior Ministry. Morsi supporters originally put the death toll at 52, but later revised it.
Thousands of demonstrators calling for Morsi’s reinstatement had taken to the streets on Sunday for the third day in a row, responding to a call for action by the country’s largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Security forces closed roads and deployed tanks to choke off the protests.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry said police recruits were returning from leave to their jobs in the border town of Rafah when the gunmen opened fire in broad daylight. The militants ordered the recruits out of two mini-buses and forced them to lie on the ground before shooting them, officials told the Associated Press.
The police officers were dressed in civilian clothes, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which left 25 dead and two wounded, the wire service said.
Just a day earlier, 36 people who had been detained at demonstrations in support of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president were killed by police officers while they were being transferred to a prison north of Cairo. Egyptian authorities said the prisoners died during an attempted jailbreak.
The two incidents highlighted the instability that has spread through Egypt since the miliary-orchestrated ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first elected president. Morsi, an Islamist, was removed from power six weeks ago, following massive demonstrations against him.
Also Monday, a lawyer for former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was forced from power in the 2011 popular uprising that ultimately led to Morsi’s election, said his client could be released from jail within the next couple of days.
Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for decades, has been charged with corruption and with killing protesters in the 2011 uprising. But a judge on Monday apparently ordered his release in at least one of the cases, the lawyer told Reuters. The Associated Press, quoting unnamed court officials, also said it was possible that the former autocrat would soon be freed.
Since Morsi’s ouster on July 3, Islamist militants have stepped up their attacks on the military and police forces stationed in the Sinai. Shootings of security forces have become a near-daily occurrence, even as political violence has engulfed other parts of the country and police and security forces have launched a lethal crackdown on pro-Morsi demonstrators.
More than 800 civilians and dozens of members of the security forces have been killed in violence since Wednesday. The state-run Middle East News Agency reported that 79 of the deaths occurred Saturday.
The detainees killed on Sunday were shot while being transferred to a prison in Qalyubia, north of Cairo, according to the Interior Ministry. Morsi supporters originally put the death toll at 52, but later revised it.
Thousands of demonstrators calling for Morsi’s reinstatement had taken to the streets on Sunday for the third day in a row, responding to a call for action by the country’s largest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood. Security forces closed roads and deployed tanks to choke off the protests.