At least 14 Egyptian policemen have been killed in a shootout with militants in the country's Western desert.
Security officials say the policemen came under fire as they were searching for suspected members of Hasm, a group that has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Egypt during the past year.
The officials said eight other security personnel were also wounded in the attack, which took place in the al-Wahat al-Bahriya district, about 135 kilometers southwest of Cairo. As of nightfall, Egypt's state television said the attack was still going on.
No militant group immediately claimed involvement in Friday's shootout.
Egypt accuses Hasm of being a militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group it outlawed in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood denies this.
An Islamist insurgency has grown in Egypt since the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.
The violence has been concentrated in the northern Sinai Peninsula, but attacks have spread in the mainland, including in the capital where suicide bombers have struck churches and security headquarters.
Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April after suicide bombers struck two churches north of Cairo, killing scores of Christians.
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