CAIRO: Egypt’s Interior Ministry said Thursday it has killed members of a gang suspected of being linked to the killing of an Italian student whose torture and death sparked an international outcry over possible involvement of Egyptian police in his brutal killing.

In a statement, the ministry said the gang members are specialized in abducting foreigners while posing as policemen, and found the personal belongings of the 28-year-old Giulio Regeni.

In an exchange of gunfire, the four men were killed inside their vehicle in an eastern Cairo suburb, the ministry statement said. It added that the group is suspected of orchestrating the kidnapping of foreigners and robbery. A body was found inside the group’s vehicle next to weapons and forged police identification cards.

Ahmed Nagy, a state prosecutor investigating the Regeni case, told The Associated Press he has no information on the gang.

Regeni went missing Jan. 25, the fifth anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 uprising, when police were deployed across Cairo in a broad security sweep to prevent any demonstrations.