Egypt foils bomb attack on security forces in Cairo
Muslim Brotherhood members blamed for subversion in the country
device. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
It said they targeted a security checkpoint. The militant group has been banned in Egypt since 2013. Police sealed off the entire district and diverted traffic as security forces searched for the culprits.
Two local security sources told Reuters that a device exploded during an attempt to defuse it. Videos circulating on social media showed a blast in a cordoned- off area under a large concrete bridge.
The sources said two policemen and three civilians suffered minor injuries from the blast and that two other devices had been defused nearby. Security forces have been waging a campaign against the militants over the past year which is focused on Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.
Attacks in the capital are relatively rare, though a roadside bomb in Giza killed three Vietnamese tourists and a Egyptian guide in December. The official says the wounded, including a policeman, were rushed to a nearby hospital. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.
An Egyptian police officer was killed on Jan. 6 while attempting to defuse a bomb found near a church in an eastern Cairo suburb, state television reported, less than two days before Egypt’s Christians celebrate the Coptic Christmas.