Eurasia Press & News
Egyptian army and police troops Thursday launched a dawn clampdown on a restive area near Cairo where alleged backers of the deposed Islamist president Mohammad Mursi killed a dozen policemen last month.
The forces, backed by armoured vehicles, stormed Kerdasa in the twin Cairo city of Giza, where they hunted for wanted Islamists involved in killing and mauling the bodies of 12 policemen in mid-August, said security forces.
Apparently anticipating the crackdown, local insurgents had set up barricades on the streets, added the sources. As the troops entered the area, the insurgents torched tyres and also fired at the troops from the rooftops of buildings, added the sources.
Hundreds of people, reportedly Mursi’s supporters, attacked the Kerdasa police station and killed its personnel on August 14, hours after security forces had carried out deadly crackdowns on two pro-Mursi camps in Cairo.
Cheering mob were seen in video footage dragging bodies of the policemen on the streets. Local media reported that Mursi’s backers have since controlled the area, famed for producing souvenirs for foreign tourists.
Thursday’s campaign came three days after a similar crackdown targeted the mostly Christian village of Delja in upper Egypt where Mursi’s supporters had allegedly destroyed churches and persecuted local Christians.
More than 50 suspected militant Islamists have been arrested in Delja, according to state media. The military toppled Mursi in July following wide street protests against his one-year-old rule. Egypt has since experienced unrest, which has left more than 1,000 people dead. Hundreds of followers of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood have since been rounded up.
