Egypt says it killed 8 militants who planned holiday attacks

CAIRO – Egypt says security forces have killed eight militants and detained four more who planned attacks on minority Christians during the upcoming holiday season.

In a Thursday statement, the Interior Ministry says the 12 belonged to “Hasm,” which it says is an armed faction of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group removed from power in 2013.

It said two of the eight killed were separately shot dead after they opened fire on security forces storming two residences in Cairo. The remaining six were killed in a shootout as they tried to flee Cairo.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, did not say when the events took place.

The Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was overthrown by the military after his yearlong rule inspired mass protests.