Egyptian troops hunt down militants in village near Cairo

Security forces on Friday hunted down militants in a village near Cairo amid a lull in clashes with gunmen, as Egyptian state media praised the “liberation” of Islamist bastion Kerdassah.

A police general was shot dead when security forces stormed the village near the Giza pyramids on Thursday in the latest crackdown on Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

The funeral of Giza deputy security chief Nabil Farrag was due to take place after Friday prayers — at the same time as fresh protests called by Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group.

State television said the fighting in Kerdassah had now eased and that troops were carrying out house-to-house searches for Islamists militants on the run.

State television said they were hunting for those responsible for an August “massacre” of 11 policemen in Kerdassah.

The interior ministry said 68 wanted men have now been arrested along with their weapons in the operation launched after dawn on Thursday.

The 11 policemen were found killed on August 14, just hours after security forces cracked down on two camps of Morsi supporters in the capital.

Egyptian media on Friday poured praise on the Kerdassah operation.