CAIRO, Mar 24 (Aswat Masriya) - Police killed gang members in New Cairo that "specialised in impersonating police officers and kidnapping foreigners," the interior ministry said on Thursday amid suspicion of police involvement in the killing of an Italian student.  

The police stated that the killings took place after an "exchange of fire," but did not specify the number of casualties.

The interior ministry also stated that it had followed legal procedures and notified the public prosecution before the incident.

Earlier this month, the European parliament called on Egyptian authorities to carry out "a swift, independent, impartial and effective investigation" in the torture and killing of 28-year-old PhD student Giulio Regeni who first disappeared on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 Uprising.

Regeni's body was found 10 days later bearing severe torture marks in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo.

Several Italian media outlets accused Egyptian authorities of being responsible for Regeni's murder, especially after the torture marks were claimed to be signatory of Egyptian security forces' practices.  

Egyptian police have been under increasing scrutiny for mounting abuses, including the recent killing of a mini-bus driver in the Darb al-Ahmar neighbourhood and assaults on doctors in their hospitals.