Egyptian forces clash with militants.

Egyptian security forces have clashed with militants after entering a town on the outskirts of Cairo, reports say.

They went into Kerdasah shortly before 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT) to target "criminal and terrorist hotbeds", officials told Mena news agency.


One member of the security forces was killed in clashes, state media say.

Eleven police officers were killed at a police station in Kerdasah last month, weeks after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July.

Security forces were searching homes in Kerdasah for members of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, residents told the BBC.

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, who was in Kerdasah last night, said the mood in the town before security forces moved in was defiant with thousands of people attending a pro-Morsi rally amid shouts of "Down with Sisi", referring to the head of the army.

An Egyptian street vendor sits opposite a torched and vandalised police station on 24 August 24, 2013 in the Kerdasah neighbourhood of Giza.
Kerdasah has been identified as a 'hotbed' of support for the Muslim Brotherhood
The authorities had promised to respond to the deadly attack on the police station in August and, according to state media, Assistant Interior Minister for Central Security Maj Gen Ashraf Abdullah met troops shortly before the mission began.

After performing dawn prayers, the troops began taking their positions in armoured vehicles ready for the start of the operation, Mena reported.

In a separate incident on Thursday, reports said part of the Cairo metro was disrupted as two bombs were discovered at Hilmiyat al-Zaytun station.

At least 1,000 people - including about 100 police officers - have died in unrest following President Morsi's removal from power. The deadliest incidents took place when security forces moved in to disperse two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo last month.

Kerdasah, known for producing and selling textiles, is 14km (8.7 miles) from Cairo.

Residents were quoted on Wednesday saying they did not trust police: "We know they will come to arrest people we know and respect whom they blame for the violence that we know was done by outsiders, not by our respectable sheikhs," Ahmed Aly told Reuters news agency.

Egyptian forces arrested dozens of residents during a raid on Monday on pro-Morsi supporters in the town of Delga, Minya province, about 300km south of Cairo.