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Gunmen Kill Policeman in Cairo

Gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead an Egyptian policeman guarding a post office in southern Cairo on Thursday, a senior police officer said.

The assailants fled the scene of the shooting in the district of Badrasheen.

The policeman, dressed in plainclothes, died on the spot, the senior officer told AFP.

The identities of the attackers were not immediately known but jihadists have repeatedly targeted police in and around the capital.

The murder comes less than two weeks after four policemen were shot dead south of the capital by masked gunmen on a motorcycle.

That attack was claimed by the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State group.

Islamist militants have killed scores of policemen and soldiers, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula, since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Jihadists say their attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Morsi's supporters that saw hundreds killed and thousands jailed after his ouster.

Source: Agence France Presse


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