Gunmen kill Egypt policeman north of Cairo

Gunmen killed an Egyptian policeman on Friday as he rode his motorbike across a bridge on the Nile in the city of Mansoura, north of Cairo, police said. Attacks on the security forces have surged since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July, and as the military-installed authorities have pressed a deadly crackdown on his supporters. Sergeant Abdallah Metwally of Mansoura police station was shot dead by assailants, who were also on a motorbike, at about 7:30 am (0530 GMT), Brigadier General El-Saeed Omara told AFP. Mansoura, in the Nile Delta, was the site of a deadly car bombing in December when the city's police headquarters was attacked, killing 15 people, mostly policeman. That bombing was the deadliest since Morsi's overthrow outside of the Sinai Peninsula bordering Israel and Gaza, where militants have killed scores of police and soldiers. Since January at least 27 policemen have been killed outside of the restive peninsula, mostly in gun attacks. Friday's killing came a day after an Egyptian court suspended the espionage trial of Morsi after defence lawyers requested the judges in the case withdraw. The case, one of three already opened against Morsi, is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting him and his Muslim Brotherhood movement since his ouster. Source: AFP