Egyptian Republican Guard
An Egyptian Republican Guard monitors his positions around the congress hall during the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

(Reuters) - The leader of an Egyptian Islamist group that has targeted policemen and soldiers in greater Cairo was killed by security forces early on Sunday, security sources said.

Hamam Mohamed Attia of Ajnad Misr was shot dead during a firefight around 1 a.m. (1900 GMT) at an apartment in Giza, which is part of the Cairo conurbation, the security sources said. There was no immediate comment from Ajnad Misr, which emerged in January 2014, on the Twitter account it often uses to claim responsibility for attacks.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing By Shadi Bushra; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and John Stonestreet)

RELATED STORIES