Egyptian police killed 40 "terrorists" in separate raids in the Sinai Peninsula and Giza early Saturday, a day after a roadside bomb near the pyramids killed three Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian guide, the interior ministry said.
Two raids in the Giza governorate killed 30 militants while the remaining 10 were killed in the restive North Sinai’s capital El-Arish, the ministry said in a statement.
State news agency MENA said that the 10 suspects were killed in a gunbattle.
The ministry did not say whether the suspected militants were connected to Friday's attack, but said authorities acted after receiving information the suspects were preparing a series of attacks against state and tourist institutions and churches.
Police also found a large number of weapons and ammunition as well as bomb-making materials, the statement said.
The ministry published photos of bloodied bodies with their faces concealed and assault rifles and shotguns lying on the floor beside them.
It did not give any details about the suspects' identity or whether there had been any casualties or injuries among the security forces.
Early on Friday evening, a roadside bomb blast hit a tourist bus traveling near the Giza pyramids killing three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian tour guide, officials said.
A statement by the public prosecutor's office said 11 other tourists from Vietnam and an Egyptian bus driver were wounded when the bomb exploded.
The improvised explosive device was placed near a wall along Mariyutiya Street in Al-Haram district near the Giza pyramids plateau, it said.
