Eight policemen were shot dead on Cairo's southern outskirts in an attack claimed Sunday by the Islamic State group, one of its deadliest in mainland Egypt. The interior ministry said four assailants in a truck intercepted a van carrying the policemen in the district of Helwan, just south of Cairo, and sprayed them with automatic rifle fire. It said those killed in the shooting overnight included a lieutenant and seven lower ranking policemen who had been on patrol in plain clothing.
In a statement circulated on social media, IS said "a squad of the soldiers of the caliphate" opened fire on the police van and then made off with their weapons.
It said the attack was carried out in retaliation for "women imprisoned" in Egyptian jails.
Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Gaffar sounded a defiant note as the slain policemen were laid to rest.