Militants attack Egypt checkpoint, kill 5 police

CAIRO (AP) — Militants attacked a police checkpoint near a Mediterranean resort area frequented by Egyptian holidaymakers, killing five policemen and losing four of their own in the ensuing gunbattle, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Egypt’s prosecutor general referred 23 suspected militants to trial, accusing them of forming a terrorist group called the Ansar al-Shariah Brigades that allegedly orchestrated the killing of 12 policemen. The investigation, the prosecutor general’s statement says, revealed that the leader of the group used the internet for recruitment, sending his group’s members to Syria for fighting. Of the accused, 18 have been arrested while the rest were charged in absentia.