A bomb went off Friday evening outside a bank in Mahalla leaving two policemen dead and 16 others injured, including police and civilians, said Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.
Five suspects were arrested, state-run news agency MENA reported.
In a separate incident, a policeman was injured in a drive by shooting in Fayoum on Friday, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.
Over the past few weeks, several bombs have hit the Greater Cairo area, with four exploding Friday in different areas in Cairo and Giza, leaving no injuries.
On 2 March, an explosion in front of Egypt’s High Court left two dead and nine injured in an attack later claimed by “Revolutionary Punishment”, a militant group that has recently emerged.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Hany Abdel Latif told a private TV channel last week that more bombs are expected after the High Court explosion.
Since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Egypt has witnessed rising insurgent activities targeting security personnel, public facilities and institutions.
Security expert Khalid Okasha told Daily News Egypt that, since the Economic Summit is approaching, militants have now shifted their targets to public facilities and commercial areas. Militants had previously only tended towards targeting security personnel and facilities.
Okasha added that militants aim to target investments in Egypt as the Economic Summit opens the door of increased investments in Egypt.
