An Egyptian court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentences of 12 men for killing a police major general during a firefight southwest of Cairo last year, judicial sources said.

Major General Nabil Faraj was killed on September 19 2013 when the town of Kerdasa was stormed by security forces to flush out Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Islamists had taken control of the town soon after police launched a brutal crackdown on Morsi's supporters in two Cairo squares on August 14, in which hundreds were killed.

The court in Cairo on Wednesday confirmed an earlier June verdict of capital punishment for 12 of the accused.

Seven of those convicted are in custody, and five are on the run.

Ten others accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in the same case, and another defendant was acquitted, the sources said.

All 22 of those convicted were also found guilty of "terrorist activities and the attempted murder of other police officers" between August 14 and October 5 last year.

The town of Kerdasa made headlines on August 14, 2013, when a mob attacked a police station there and killed 13 officers, mutilating their corpses.

The attack was savage revenge for the deaths of pro-Morsi supporters in Cairo sit-ins earlier that day.

Since Morsi's ouster, police have cracked down hard on his Muslim Brotherhood movement and its members and supporters.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in the crackdown, and more than 15,000 jailed. Hundreds have been sentenced to death in often speedy trials.

(AFP)