Egypt violence kills 27, including two soccer players

By AYA BATRAWY

Published: January 26, 2013 09:17AM
Updated: January 26, 2013 09:16AM
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Families of the martyrs of the Ultras Al-Ahli, football supporters react in court with joy after the issuance of the death penalty for 21 accused in last years Port Said football violence, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. Egyptian security officials say a senior police officer and a policeman were shot dead in the Mediterranean city of Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection to one of the world's deadliest incidents of soccer violence. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abd El-Latef, Shorouk Newspaper) EGYPT OUT
CAIRO - The director of hospitals in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Port Said says two soccer players are among the 27 people killed in riots there.

Violence erupted in Port Said after a judge sentenced 21 people to death in connection with a Feb. 1 soccer melee that killed 74 fans of the Cairo-based Al-Ahly team.

Dr. Abdel-Raham Farah says Mahmoud Abdel-Halim al-Dizawi, a soccer player in Port Said's Al-Marikh club, was shot three times and died.

He says Tamer al-Fahla, a soccer player who used to play for the city's main Al-Masry team, was also shot dead on his way to Al-Marikh club.

The club is near a prison residents tried to storm Saturday to free defendants in the soccer trial. The military has been deployed to try and restore security.