Egypt's Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek referred to military trial on Monday 43 defendants accused of being involved in the deadly Wahat terrorist attack that killed 16 policemen and left 13 injured in late 2017.

According to the prosecution, the defendants, two of whom are fugitives, include members of the terrorist group Daesh, as well as known terrorist, Abdel-Rahim Al-Mesmary, who is a Libyan national.

In October 2017, 11 police officers, four conscripts and one sergeant were killed in a shootout while raiding a terrorist hideout in Bahariya Oasis, about 135 kilometres (83 miles) southwest of Cairo.

The ministry of interior said at the time that 15 terrorists were killed during the shootout.

The prosecutors have charged Al-Mesmary and the other defendants in the case with premeditated murder, attempted murder, memberhip in a terrorist group and attacks on army and police personnel, among other charges. 

A police officer, Mohamed El-Hayes, was abducted by terrorists during the shootout, but the Egyptian army and police rescued him in a joint operation later that month.

Following the shootout, Egyptian security forces launched a number of operations targeting hideouts in the Western Desert area, during which numerous terrorists were killed, according to officials. 

Earlier this month, the Libyan National Army (LNA) announced that Hesham El-Ashmawy, a fugitive Egyptian terrorist who is believed to be have been involved in the Wahat attack, was apprehended in Derna.