Egypt disputes death toll from desert shoot-out

Egypt's government said 11 officers, four conscripts and one sergeant were killed

Egypt's government has disputed reports that more than 50 policemen were killed in a shoot-out with militants in the Western Desert on Friday.

The interior ministry said only 16 policemen died when they were ambushed during a mission in the Bahariya oasis.

Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) criticised the BBC and Reuters news agency for citing unnamed sources for the death tolls in their articles.

No group admitted to the attack, some 135km (84 miles) south-west of Cairo.

But hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed by jihadist militants affiliated to so-called Islamic State (IS) since 2013, when the Egyptian military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.