State media reported that an Egyptian police officer was shot dead, according to Reuters, in fighting outside Cairo. Security forces were reportedly trying to regain control over an Islamist-dominated area where 11 police officers were killed in a militant attack in August.
Reuters reports that police and soldiers entered the town of Kerdasa at daybreak, using tear gas and army helicopters. Security sources reportedly said the forces had seized dozens of weapons, including rocket propelled grenades. The general was killed in an exchange of gunfire on the outskirts of the town. Police have arrested 15 people and are hunting 140 wanted people, according to the interior ministry.
Footage broadcast by the privately-owned Mihwar TV channel showed armoured personnel carriers, police and soldiers in the streets.