Woman dies in Egypt police raid

Crowds of Egyptians have attacked police with clubs and stones in a town south of Cairo after a pregnant woman died during a police raid on her home.

The woman was pushed to the ground by officers when she would not let them enter her home to look for her brother, a suspected thief, police said.

She was in the last stages of pregnancy and died of internal bleeding caused by the fall, police added.

Residents of the town, Samalout, rioted after hearing of the incident.

They threw stones at police officers, beat them with clubs and set fire to a police truck.

An officer was taken to hospital with injuries.

One report says the woman, Mervat Abdul Salam Abdul Fattah, 32, had been struck with the butt of a rifle after she obstructed the police.

Human rights groups say police brutality is widespread in Egypt. The authorities have acknowledged isolated cases, but deny it is systematic and insist all cases are prosecuted.