The Ministry of Interior denied Sunday news reports of an attempt on Fayoum’s Security Director General Nasser Al-Abd’s life through an improvised explosive device.
Local news reports said that Al-Abd was leading a security campaign in Fayoum when a bomb exploded on the road. The explosion reportedly took place at the entrance of the Atsa city in Fayoum.
Al-Abd said, in a televised interview with pro-government Ahmed Moussa, that “Al Jazeera channel spread the rumour of an attempt to blow up the car that I was riding in”. He added that the explosion was from a sound bomb, leaving no injuries or damages. He ended the interview saying that “pre-emptive strikes will continue to defeat terrorism”.
The “Revolutionary Punishment” militant group claimed it planted the bomb.
On Saturday, the group’s blog, which has previously claimed attacks on police and official targets, announced that “Al-Abd is on the group’s radar”.
“The heroes of the Revolutionary Punishment planted a bomb in Atsa, targeting a security campaign led by the murderer Nasser Al-Abd,” the statement said.
The group described Al-Abd as “the slave of every dictator and regime, a slave to [former interior minister] Habib Al-Adly, the killer of Khaled Said and Sayed Belal”.
Said and Belal were two suspects who were killed in police custody amid strong allegations of police torture. Their cases sparked heavy debate before the revolution on police brutality.
Said is considered a symbol of police brutality, and his death is believed to be have sparked the 25 January Revolution, which would take place a few months later.
In Fayoum, since the start of August, seven alleged members of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood were killed in action. However, families and relatives of the dead suspects have asserted that they were shot “unarmed” and tied. On the other hand, Egyptian police say that the arrests occurred with full legal permission from the General Prosecution, as they were accused of committing “terrorist attacks”.
Two of those seven men were killed Friday morning as police stormed their home, while eyewitnesses claim they were unarmed.
Also, last week, two people died at the Fayoum police station, among allegations of torture and a lack of medical treatment.
Fayoum has seen some of the worst violence, topped only by the more volatile North Sinai governorate. Almost weekly, individual attacks occur, leaving injuries among police personnel.
