Egyptian security forces have killed seven suspected so-called Islamic State militants in a shootout as they were meeting to plan attacks on minority Christians.
The Interior Ministry says the militants were killed after they opened fire on security forces who approached them in the Southern city of Assiut.
This incident comes a day after Egypt’s cabinet approved a three-month state of emergency following attacks on two Christian Coptic churches that killed at least 44 people.
The Copts, whose presence in the country dates to the Roman era, have long complained of religious persecution and accuse the state of not doing enough to protect them.
