Eight Egyptian policemen slain by unidentified gunmen

Attackers shot dead eight plain-clothes Egyptian policemen in the Helwan district south of Cairo, the interior ministry said Sunday.

The policemen were travelling in a minivan when the assailants in a pickup truck blocked their path and sprayed the vehicle with automatic-weapons fire, the ministry said.

Residents told Reuters that the attackers wore masks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the slayings.

Militant factions, including the Islamic State group, have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula but also in and around Cairo.

The ministry said the dead included a lieutenant and seven lower-ranking policemen who were patrolling the area just south of the capital when they were attacked late at night.