Injuries as blast hits central Cairo
Two Egyptian policemen and a civilian have
been wounded in a bomb attack targeting a
security checkpoint in central Cairo, officials
and a medic said.
The device, which was placed by unknown
assailants between two cars near the
checkpoint at al-Galaa Square in Dokki
neighbourhood, exploded at about 7:15 am
local time on Tuesday, AFP news agency
quoted a security official as saying.
Police sealed off the area and bomb disposal
experts were examining the site to make sure
no other bombs were planted nearby.
Egypt has been rocked by a series of bombings
and shootings carried out by armed men since
the military toppled the first freely-elected
president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim
Brotherhood, in July.
Most attacks have been in the restive Sinai
Peninsula, but in recent months brazen attacks
have also been launched farther afield in the
Nile Delta and in the capital Cairo.
Student protester killed
The explosion comes a day after a student was
killed on Monday in clashes between police and
anti-coup protesters at Cairo University,
Reuters news agency quoted a medic as saying.
Security forces fired tear-gas at protesters who
in turn hurled fireworks and at least two petrol
bombs at police lines, Reuters reported. A
reporter for a local newspaper was also
wounded when he was hit by birdshot, the
paper said.
With the state cracking down hard on
opposition groups, the universities have
become a major arena for protests by those
opposing last July's military topple of Morsi.
The Anti-Coup National Alliance had called for
a week of "non-violent defiance and a huge
revolutionary Monday in solidarity with
detainees and martyrs' families".
The protests often lead to confrontation
between the security forces and
demonstrators.