REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO -- Six Egyptian soldiers from the border guard were killed when they were targeted by smugglers and "outlaws" during a patrol in a western part of the country, an army spokesman said on Saturday.

The six soldiers, who included an officer, were killed while carrying out a patrol in the western desert area of al-Wahat, the spokesman said in a statement on his official Facebook page late on Saturday.

The statement said the attack came in response to security forces' recent arrest of smugglers and confiscation of weapons, ammunition, cars and drugs.

Egypt has long desert borders with Sudan and Libya, where experts say weapons flows have increased since an uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

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