Cairo, Oct 18 (IANS) Egypt's Interior Ministry announced the death of a leading Islamist jihadist, after an exchange of fire during his arrest in Giza, Cairo.
"The Homeland Security Department got information that Ashraf Idrees al-Qazzaz, a 34-year-old carpenter frequently visits his sister's apartment in Kerdasa neighbourhood," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement.
On Monday, police forces raided his place looking to arrest the man, who surprised the forces by retaliating with gunfire which ended with his death, according to the statement.
The police said the jihadist had received a death sentence after storming into a police station in Kerdasa and killing several personnel, plus another sentence of 25 years in jail for establishing an armed militant cell which targeted the state's television building.
In September, an Egyptian court sentenced seven Islamists to death after charging them with storming into a Kerdasa police station where they killed the head policeman and wounded nine other policemen in August 2013.
Anti-government terrorist attacks have increased in Egypt following the military removal of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Hundreds of security personnel were killed in the past three years with Sinai's militant Islamic State (IS) group claiming responsibility for most of them.
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