Unknown assailants fired at a security squad in the city of Badrasheen, north of Cairo, on Wednesday, while trying to escape arrest; however no injuries among police personnel were reported.
State media said that assailants were caught trying to steal a private car when police forces chased them. The report added that the assailants managed to escape.
The interior ministry said that two civilians called for help as a security patrol was roaming the area, which led to the confrontation between the assailants and the police.
After police arrived, they were faced with heavy fire from assailants. The ministry added that reinforcements arrived to relive the attacked personnel. The prosecution is currently investigating the incident.
As the long awaited parliamentary elections are approaching, Egypt’s security apparatuses are gearing to secure voting stations.
In a separate incident, two bombs exploded Tuesday night in the warehouse of the Alexandria train station, damaging the vicinity and injuring civilians.
The interior ministry added that the injuries were minor, and explosive experts were deployed to the train station to search for secondary bombs. The ministry also said that the bombs were homemade, and the impact was minor, and that investigations are ongoing to arrest the perpetrators.
In Cairo’s upper class neighbourhood of Maadi, residents reported a car suspected of containing explosive devices.
The car was close to Maadi metro station; therefore authorities shut the station down briefly. The ministry of interior said that an explosive expert investigated the car but did not find any explosives.
Planting explosives devices are common practices in Egypt. However, the frequency of bombings declined in Cairo and other governorates, apart from the volatile North Sinai region.
The latest major bombing to occur took place at the National Security headquarters in Shubra Al-Kheima, Qaliubiya last August. The attack was claimed by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” militant group (IS).
Last June witnessed one of the most high profile attacks with the assassination of prosecutor general Hisham Barakat in Heliopolis. Barakat died in Nozha Hospital due to injuries sustained in the attack.
Explosions across Egypt have generally targeted security personnel, army personnel and public facilities, since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood government in July 2013.
