Several police men killed in Egypt

Egyptian police and emergency personnel carry a body on a stretcher at the site where masked gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead four Egyptian policemen south of the capital Cairo, on November 28, 2015. According to the Egyptian interior ministry the gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle, killing those inside, in an area between the famed Giza pyramids west of Cairo and the Saqarra pyramids to the south. AFP PHOTO / STR / AFP / STR

A drive-by shooting killed four Egyptian police near an historic site on the outskirts of Cairo on Saturday and a military helicopter crashed due to a “sudden technical failure” northeast of the capital, officials said.

Masked gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a security checkpoint near Saqqara, said the police. The tourist site is home to the 4,600-year-old Step Pyramid. No one has claimed responsibility.

The helicopter was on a reconnaissance mission northeast of Cairo in the Ismailia province, the military said in a statement. It said crew members were injured, without specifying the number hurt or the severity.

Egypt has been battling a growing insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula led by a local Islamic State affiliate, which has mainly targeted soldiers and police there, but has also claimed attacks elsewhere in Egypt.

The militant group claimed responsibility for the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai last month, saying it smuggled a bomb on board the airliner. Russia said the plane was downed by a bomb and suspended flights to Egypt. Egypt has not commented on the cause of the crash, saying an investigation is still underway.