CAIRO — A truck bomb struck the main security headquarters in Cairo on Friday, one of a string of bombings targeting police within a 10-hour period, killing six people. The most significant attack yet in the Egyptian capital fueled a furious backlash against the Muslim Brotherhood amid rising fears of a militant insurgency.
CAIRO — A truck bomb struck the main security headquarters in Cairo on Friday, one of a string of bombings targeting police within a 10-hour period, killing six people. The most significant attack yet in the Egyptian capital fueled a furious backlash against the Muslim Brotherhood amid rising fears of a militant insurgency.
The mayhem on the eve of the third anniversary of Egypt’s once-hopeful revolution pointed to the dangerous slide Egypt has taken since last summer’s military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi: A mounting confrontation between the military-backed government and Islamist opponents amid the escalating violence.
In the hours after the blast, angry residents — some chanting for the “execution” of Brotherhood members — joined police in clashes with the group’s supporters having their daily street protests against the government.
Smoke rose over Cairo from fires, and fighting around the country left 14 more people dead.
Today, the anniversary of the start of the 18-day uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak, raises the potential for new violence, as military supporters and the Islamists vowed to take to the streets with rival rallies.
After Friday’s blasts, interim President Adli Mansour vowed to “uproot terrorism,” just as the government crushed a militant insurgency in the 1990s. The state “will not show them pity or mercy,” he said. “We … will not hesitate to take the necessary measures.”
That could spell an escalation in the crackdown the government has waged against Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood since his July 3 ouster.
Thousands of Islamists have already been arrested and hundreds killed, with authorities accusing the group of being behind militant violence.
The Brotherhood, which allied itself with some radical groups while in power, denies the claim, saying the government is using it to justify its drive to eliminate the Islamist organization as a rival.