CAIRO: Two bombs targeting security posts near Cairo University exploded in quick succession on Wednesday killing a police general, followed by a third blast as police and journalists gathered at the scene.
An assistant interior minister was wounded in the double bombings, police said.
Witnesses said the explosions sent up a cloud of smoke and dust near the campus in the center of the Egyptian capital, the scene in the past few months of repeated clashes between armed students and police.
The third bomb went off near the site of the first explosions, close to the campus main gates, where police investigators and journalists had gathered following the first blasts.
It caused no injuries, the official MENA news agency reported.
The attack was the latest by militants targeting security forces following President Muhammad Mursi’s overthrow in July.
It came less than a week after the military chief who overthrew Mursi, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, said he was quitting the army to run in presidential elections in May, vowing to wipe out “terrorism.”
The first two rudimentary bombs also wounded five policemen, the Interior Ministry said, identifying the slain officer as Brig. Gen. Tarek Al-Mergawi.
A police general at the scene told AFP that the bombs were concealed in a tree between two small police posts.
“I was waiting for the bus when I heard two explosions. There was dust in the air and policemen were screaming,” said a witness.
Maj. Gen. Abdel Raouf Al-Serafi, an assistant interior minister, was among the wounded, police officials said.
The government says militants have killed almost 500 people, most of them policemen and soldiers, in attacks since Mursi’s overthrow amid a deadly crackdown on his supporters.
The government generally blames Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood for the violence, although the deadliest bombings and shootings have been carried out by the Al-Qaeda inspired Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group, based in Sinai.
The Brotherhood, now decapitated with Mursi and much of its leadership in jail, has been designated a terrorist group in Egypt.
Some of its top leaders have relocated to London, where British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered a probe into the group’s activities.
Militants are expected to increase their attempts after Sisi announced his candidacy for the election in late May, which he is likely to win.
An assistant interior minister was wounded in the double bombings, police said.
Witnesses said the explosions sent up a cloud of smoke and dust near the campus in the center of the Egyptian capital, the scene in the past few months of repeated clashes between armed students and police.
The third bomb went off near the site of the first explosions, close to the campus main gates, where police investigators and journalists had gathered following the first blasts.
It caused no injuries, the official MENA news agency reported.
The attack was the latest by militants targeting security forces following President Muhammad Mursi’s overthrow in July.
It came less than a week after the military chief who overthrew Mursi, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, said he was quitting the army to run in presidential elections in May, vowing to wipe out “terrorism.”
The first two rudimentary bombs also wounded five policemen, the Interior Ministry said, identifying the slain officer as Brig. Gen. Tarek Al-Mergawi.
A police general at the scene told AFP that the bombs were concealed in a tree between two small police posts.
“I was waiting for the bus when I heard two explosions. There was dust in the air and policemen were screaming,” said a witness.
Maj. Gen. Abdel Raouf Al-Serafi, an assistant interior minister, was among the wounded, police officials said.
The government says militants have killed almost 500 people, most of them policemen and soldiers, in attacks since Mursi’s overthrow amid a deadly crackdown on his supporters.
The government generally blames Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood for the violence, although the deadliest bombings and shootings have been carried out by the Al-Qaeda inspired Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group, based in Sinai.
The Brotherhood, now decapitated with Mursi and much of its leadership in jail, has been designated a terrorist group in Egypt.
Some of its top leaders have relocated to London, where British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered a probe into the group’s activities.
Militants are expected to increase their attempts after Sisi announced his candidacy for the election in late May, which he is likely to win.
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