CAIRO

Egyptian police killed eight people in a shootout west of Cairo on Sunday, according to the country's interior ministry.

The ministry said the eight were killed during a raid on their training camp in Fayoum province.

The statement said the eight were members of Hasm group, which the authorities links to the Muslim Brotherhood and blames for a string of attacks in recent months.

The Brotherhood denies any relation to Hasm and has repeatedly denounced violence.

Last week, police forces shot dead two Hasm members in a shootout east of Cairo.

Egypt was roiled by violence when the military deposed Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president and a Brotherhood leader, in a 2013 coup.

Reporting by Omar Thabet; Writing by Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg