The death toll from days of unrest in Egypt is nearing 1,000, with 25 police officers massacred in the latest violence.

Islamic militants in the Sinai peninsula—where attacks on security forces have soared since the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was removed from office last month—ambushed a pair of minibuses carrying the officers and killed them execution-style in broad daylight, the AP reports.

The Egyptian government says 36 detainees captured in recent days died after clashes with police, Reuters reports .