Militants attack police checkpoint in northern Egypt, killing 5 policemen

CAIRO – Egypt's Interior Ministry says militants attacked a police checkpoint in the country's north, killing five policemen. Security forces killed four of the attackers in a gunbattle that followed.

According to the ministry's Facebook page, the attack took place in the Dhabaa area in the coastal province of Matrouh late Tuesday.

The ministry says security forces deployed at a nearby port rushed to the site, pursued the attackers and killed four "terrorists." It gave no further details.

Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm says the attackers shot and killed the policemen, then set fire to their vehicle. The blaze spread and left the bodies of the slain policemen badly charred.

Egypt has seen a rise in militant attacks since the ouster last July of its Islamist president and a crackdown on his supporters.