Egyptian security forces kill 17 terrorists suspected in Cairo blast
Egyptian
security forces killed 17 terrorists on Thursday during an operation against
suspects in last weekend's deadly car blast in Cairo that claimed some 20
lives.
The
interior ministry said the 17 killed belonged to the Hasm group, an armed
affiliate of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt's
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called the collision between several
vehicles in Cairo a "terrorist act," as one of the cars was loaded
with explosives.
The
collision happened just before midnight Sunday, when a speeding car packed with
explosives drove against the traffic and crashed into three other vehicles
outside the National Cancer Institute in the Egyptian capital.
According
to the health ministry, at least 20 people were killed in the collision.
The
Hasm group was "behind the preparations of the vehicle" that caused
the explosion, the interior ministry said in a statement.
It
added that it had identified the suicide driver of the vehicle as a member of
Hasm.
Security
forces were able to "locate members of a Hasm cell" and killed 17 of
them, including the brother of the suicide car bomber, during operations in
Cairo and Faiyum, south of the capital, the ministry said.
Since
2016 the Hasm group has claimed responsibility for several attacks against
police, officials and judges in Cairo.