Egypt: Several dead as police raid Cairo hideout

At least nine people, including seven policemen, were killed in a blast in Egypt’s capital, Cairo on Thursday during a raid to flash out suspected militants when a bomb they were trying to detonate went off inside an apartment.

According to the country’s interior ministry, security forces stormed the building after receiving information that a group of terrorists were hiding in the apartments near the pyramids.

Officials say that the bomb had been planted by Muslim Brotherhood militants who have escalated their attacks on Egyptian officers and soldiers.

“Police had information that a group of Muslim Brotherhood members were preparing to carry out aggressive acts in the coming days using explosives and crude bombs,” a statement from the ministry read on their facebook page.

At least a dozen people were wounded during the explosion that damaged the residential building.

“No-one in the neighborhood knew that they were terrorists. Had we known, we would not have left them alone. The building is still new. The residents have only been here for six months at the most. So, we really didn’t know them,” Um Sameh, resident of exploded apartment said.

Egypt has witnessed a spate of attacks by Islamists groups since the the ousting of former president Mohammed Morsi who toppled Hosni Mubarak during the infamous 2011 uprising.