Egypt's security forces killed 13 terrorist elements on Friday during a raid on an abandoned ranch building located at the 47km mark on the Assiut-Al-Kharga Oasis highway, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The operation “resulted in the seizure of a large amount of arms and ammunition, including detonative charges and explosive belts, that were in the possession of the terrorist elements, who started opening fire at security forces upon their arrival at the shootout site," the statement said.

The approximate location of the raid is around 234 km south of Cairo.

“Security forces are currently working on identifying the slain terrorist elements, while the shootout resulted in some damages to a security vehicle.”

The operation comes as part of the ministry's effort to eradicate terrorist hideouts in remote areas of Giza and of Upper Egypt governorates, said the statement.

Last Friday, 16 policemen were killed and 13 were injured in a shootout with terrorists on the Wahat highway, about 135km southwest of Giza.

The interior ministry said that 11 police officers, four conscripts and one sergeant were killed in the shootout, and a search is underway for one missing police officer. Four police officers and nine conscripts were also injured.