CAIRO: Egyptian security forces killed six suspected militants in a raid on a house on the outskirts of Cairo, an interior ministry statement said on Monday.

The men were planning to attack “vital installations and Christian places of worship and the armed forces and police during the (Muslim) Eid al-Adha celebrations,” the ministry said.

The ministry published photos of bloodied bodies with their faces concealed and assault rifles and shotguns lying on the floor beside them.

The raid in the 6th October suburb came just days after an attempted attack on a church near Cairo. Security forces arrested seven people suspected of involvement in Saturday’s foiled bombingy, the latest attack directed at Egypt’s Christian minority.

Separately, Egyptian forces killed 12 suspected militants in raids in North Sinai, state media reported on Sunday.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has promised to defeat Islamist militants, who have killed hundreds of civilians and members of the security forces in the Sinai Peninsula in recent years. Some attacks have targeted the Egyptian mainland.

The Eid festival takes place next week. Egypt usually tightens security measures before national holidays, around which several attacks have taken place since 2011.