One dead after twin blasts near Cairo University

Riot police officers take positions in front of Cairo University. (File photo: Reuters)

 

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Two roadside bombs targeting riot police deployed outside of Cairo University killed an Egyptian police officer on Wednesday afternoon.
Several bystanders, including four police officers, were wounded in the blast, which security forces said went off near a police vehicle.
Officials say the bombs went off seconds apart, targeting the police deployed in the area in anticipation of students loyal to ousted Islamist President Mohammad Mursi.
Egyptian state TV says the bombs were crude and homemade.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The government announced this week that nearly 500 people, most of them soldiers and police, have died from such attacks.
Insurgent attacks have increased in the nine months since the military ousted Mursi. The attacks, usually occuring in the restive Sinai Peninsula, have spread to Cairo and other cities in recent months.