Egyptian security forces block the road at the site about 35 km away from where policemen were killed in a shootout in Giza, Egypt, Oct. 21, 2017. Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua News Agency/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.In a devastating blow to Egypt’s counter insurgency efforts, 54 members of the security forces were reported killed during a security operation in the Farafra Oasis on 21 October. This oasis located a mere 135 km south-west of Cairo.
The exact number of those killed remains unknown. The interior ministry issued an official statement claiming that only 16 police offers had been killed, whereas security officials initially stated that 59 had been killed. The Egyptian government criticized international media for inflating the number of causalities.
At first the government held the Hassm group responsible; a group it claims is the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood - even though the Brotherhood has denied the claims. It remains unclear until now who is responsible for the ambush; no concrete evidence of Hassm responsibility has been provided - even though a fabricated claim has been circulating – and more recently a new group Ansar El-Islam, who are allegedly connected to Al Qaeda, have claimed responsibility.
