REUTERS: CAIRO: An Egyptian police officer was shot dead in Cairo on Sunday by unknown assailants, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, three days after a three-month curfew and state of emergency were lifted.

 

Officer Mohamad Mabruk, in charge of following up on the Muslim Brotherhood in the Interior Ministry's National Security division, was shot dead on Sunday evening as he was leaving his house in the Nasr City district, state news agency MENA said.

 

Security sources could not say if the incident was a criminal or politically motivated act. The investigation is still ongoing to determine the perpetrators.

 

Violence rocked Egypt after the army, prompted by mass protests, deposed the country's first democratically elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi on July 3, sparking the worst violence the country has seen in decades.

 

A state of emergency and curfew were imposed after security forces dispersed two pro-Mursi camps on Aug. 14, killing hundreds, and arresting thousands of his supporters after launching a crackdown campaign against Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood group.

 

The state of emergency and curfew were lifted on Nov. 14.