EGYPT: 8 policemen killed, 4 others injured in checkpoint attack

An attack on a security checkpoint by unknown assailants in Egypt’s New Valley province in the Western Desert saw the killing of eight policemen and the wounding of four others.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack which occurred at Naqb checkpoint, about 70km from Kharga city, at about 8:15pm local time (18:15 GMT) according to reports.

However, two of the assailants were also killed during a fiery exchange of gunfire while the remaining attackers were being pursued, according to the interior ministry.

Attacks on Egyptian security forces are common in the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and the Gaza Strip, where a local branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group operates.