Update: Police kill 13 militants along Asyut-Kharga road

CAIRO - 27 October 2017: Security forces killed 13 high-risk militants in clashes that took place along Wadi Gadid-Wahat road on Friday, the Ministry of Interior announced in a statement.

Based on security information acquired over the past few days, security forces raided some spots in the western desert to pursue militants following clashes between militants and security forces in Wahat area, in Giza, resulting in 17 officers and 15 militants killed a week ago, the statement added.

As per information from the state security services, a group of militants were hiding in an abandoned house at the 47-kilometer mark along Asyut-Kharga road, the statement continued.

A shootout between security forces and militants occurred when the forces besieged this point, resulting in the killing of 13 militants, some of them in military uniform, the statement said.

Security forces confiscated guns, rifles and ammunition, the statement added.

Investigations into the shootout are underway and a manhunt was launched to arrest the remaining perpetrators. Recently, Egypt’s air force thwarted a new attempt to infiltrate the Western borders of the country, according to an official statement posted on Monday by the military spokesperson Tamer El-Refai on Facebook.

Forces have destroyed eight SUVs loaded with smuggled weapons and ammunition across the borders.