12 killed in police raid in Egypt

At least 12 people died yesterday when Egyptian police in the southern city of Assiut stormed hideouts of Muslim militants fighting to overthrow the government, Reuter reports from Cairo.

Police operations against militants have made this the bloodiest month in a year of surging political violence. A senior government official said dialogue and defensive policing had failed and police were now opening fire whenever they were shot at. Security sources said one of the dead was a militant leader believed to have led a campaign of attacks on foreigners.