Egypt: Security forces kill 5 armed men in southern Egypt

Egyptian security forces killed five armed men during a raid on Monday in a southern province, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The men were shot dead after they opened fire on security forces during an early morning operation in the mountainous region of Sohag governorate, 350km south of Cairo, the ministry said.

Security forces seized ammunition, weapons and organisational documents at the scene, but did not identify the suspects.

The ministry statement did not specify if there were any casualties among security forces during the gun battle in Akhmim district.

On Saturday, eight people were killed in an operation by Egyptian police, including four police officers. 

Earlier this month, Egypt‘s military said it killed 52 fighters in the Sinai peninsula over several days as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate armed groups in the sparsely populated desert region.

More than 300 fighters have been killed in Sinai since the Egyptian army launched an operation to defeat armed groups in February.

Egypt, which has been under a state of emergency since April of last year, has battled fighters for years. 

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi made the fight against armed groups a priority, but rights defenders accuse the government of also using it as cover to crack down on dissent.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies