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Bombing targets Egypt minister

Visevic, DanijelSeptember 6, 2013

Egypt's interior minister has survived an apparent attempt on his life. The car bomb explosion did not injure him, but reportedly wounded passersby.

https://p.dw.com/p/19chB

A car bomb went off in Cairo's eastern district of Nasr City on Thursday morning. The explosion occurred near Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim's convoy, according to Egyptian media and security officials.

Speaking later on state television, Ibrahim called the attack "cowardly."

The blast damaged nearby cars and injured at least five people, including one policeman who lost his leg, according to Egyptian media. It was not immediately clear if anyone had died in the bombing.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The Muslim Brotherhood later said in a statement on Thursday the bombing was "regrettable" and should be "condemned irrespective of the perpetrators."

The Egyptian government vowed that the attack would not stop it from pursuing anti-terrorism efforts "with force and determination."

The violence comes amid political unrest in Egypt in the wake of President Mohammed Morsi's ouster on July 3. Supporters of the ex-president and the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood - which helped him rise to power in 2012 - have held numerous mass demonstrations and sit-ins calling for his reinstatement and denouncing the interim government as illegal.

The military-backed government has responded to the protests with violent crackdowns and by arresting many of the Muslim Brotherhood's top leaders.

tj,kms/pfd (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)