Egypt says security forces killed 40 militants after roadside bomb blast

It said the militants were preparing for attacks on government and tourism facilities, army and police personnel as well as Christian churches.

Security forces stand near a tourist bus after a roadside bomb in an area near the Giza Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt (Photo | AP)

CAIRO: Egypt says its security forces have killed 40 militants in raids on their hideouts in the Sinai Peninsula and the Greater Cairo area.

In a Saturday statement, the Interior Ministry said 10 of the militants were killed when the forces stormed their hideout in el-Arish, a coastal city in the turbulent north of Sinai. Another 14 were killed in the Cairo suburb of October 6 and 16 more in a housing project on a highway heading west from Cairo.

It said the militants were preparing for attacks on government and tourism facilities, army and police personnel as well as Christian churches.

The statement came hours after a bomb targeted a tourist bus in Cairo, killing three Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian guide.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years.