BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The world has voiced strong support for the battle against terrorism after a massive shootout between the Egyptian police and terrorists took place in the desert of Giza province, Egypt.
In the shootout on Friday, 16 policemen were killed and another went missing. Fifteen terrorists were either killed or injured, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said.
The United Nations Security Council, in a press statement, condemned "in the strongest terms" the attack launched by terrorists and underlined the need to bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice.
The 15-nation council urged all states to cooperate actively with the Egyptian government and all relevant authorities in this regard.
Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit also denounced the terrorist attack and expressed full support for Egypt in its battle against terrorism.
The attack proved once again the big danger posed by terrorism against Arab societies, the AL chief said.
Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani expressed Jordan's support for Egypt as well as its efforts in standing up against terrorism and preserving the country's security and stability, local media reported.
Momani called for increased regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and radical ideologies, especially after the success in defeating the Islamic State.
Likewise, the Libyan eastern-based parliament stressed the importance of security coordination with Egypt to eliminate terrorist organizations, according to a statement.
"The Libyan parliament and people confirm solidarity with Egypt in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Our war against terrorism is common. All dark schemes target the security of all of us," the statement said.
In addition, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said "there is no difference between terrorism that inflicts Egypt and terrorism that inflicts other countries," according to a statement.
Israel called for united forces with other countries "to defeat terrorism more quickly," it said.
On Friday, the terrorists started firing as two police operations were heading towards their suspected hideout in the al-Wahat region of Giza, authorities said.
Early reports estimated that more than 50 policemen were killed in the deadly ambush, giving a much higher death toll than that of the Egyptian Interior Ministry.
Egypt has been fighting against a wave of terror activities that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military toppled former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Terror attacks in Egypt used to be centered in North Sinai before spreading nationwide and killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers over the past few years.
To combat the terrorist threats, Egypt declared its anti-terror war in 2013. Since then, hundreds of militants have been killed and a similar number of suspects arrested in security raids.
