Egyptian police have killed four suspected extremist militants believed to have been planning a “major attack” in a shootout near Cairo, the interior ministry said.

The Takfiri cell had been meeting when police raided their hideout in Giza province, southwest of Cairo, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“When the terrorist cell sensed the police drawing near they began shooting at them, which prompted the police force to fire back,” the statement said.

They were “preparing to execute a major attack in the coming period,” the statement said.

The ISIL Takfiri group’s Egyptian branch has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula but also in Cairo.

Source: AFP