An alleged militant accused of carrying out an ambush on a police force in Fayoum last week was killed on Saturday by security personnel, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior. The ministry said that Taha Tolba, a 45-years-old merchant, belonged to the militant group Hasm, and was wanted in different violence-related cases where he was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison in absentia. The statement explained that he was involved in an ambush that targeted a police patrol killing a police conscript and injuring another. No militant group has claimed responsibility as of yet, despite of the ministry's claim that Hasm was the one who executed the attack. Militant attacks against police and army forces have become commonplace following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Minor militant groups have been active in Fayoum, targeting police checkpoints and police personnel. Until the start of 2016, the Revolutionary Punishment militant group was the most active group in the city until a new group Hasm claimed responsibility for the new attacks. Shootings, mainly targeting police and army officers as well as state officials, have become common in Egypt since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Although the militant insurgency has been predominantly active in North Sinai, militant attacks targeting public facilities as well as police and army facilities and personnel have spilled out of the restive peninsula, often in the form of drive-by shootings and IED attacks.
