Egyptian Police Death Toll Reaches a Record 18 in Month

Suspected Muslim militants shot dead four policemen in southern Egypt on Sunday, bringing December’s police death toll to 18--the highest since militants began fighting to overthrow the state in 1992.

Gunmen ambushed and killed the policemen as they were on their way to work in El Qusiya, a militant stronghold 186 miles south of Cairo, security sources said. A civilian also died in the shooting.

The militant movement Gamaa al Islamiya (Islamic Group) has claimed responsibility for two of December’s police deaths and is believed to be behind the others, most of them involving low-ranking conscripts.

A police brigadier, captain and lieutenant and two conscripts were killed last Sunday in the worst shootout with militants in the southern province of Asyut since March. Three militants were also killed that day.

All but two of the policemen killed this month have fallen in Asyut, where the Gamaa al Islamiya launched its campaign in 1992 to overthrow the government and establish a strict Islamic state by targeting security personnel, Christians and foreign tourists.

The attacks on tourists have subsided, having devastated the Egyptian tourist industry.

December has been a bloody month for militants too; nine were hanged after military trials, and six died in shootouts with police.

Human rights groups have condemned the hangings as arbitrary and summary and say they only widen Egypt’s circle of violence.