US condemns string of Cairo bombings

Egyptian minister calls for tougher stance against Hamas, which he blames for supporting terrorism

By AP and ToI Staff 24 January 2014, 9:22 pm

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Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi damage an area on a street as they protest against the government in Cairo's Nasr City district, Egypt, Friday, Jan, 24, 2014. (photo credit: AP/El Shorouk newspaper, Sabry Khaled)

WASHINGTON — The US strongly condemned a string of bombings in Egypt’s capital that killed at least six people on Friday.

In the wake of the attack, Egypt’s Religious Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa called for a more aggressive stance against Hamas. In an interview with Egyptian TV, Gomaa blamed Hamas for supporting terrorists and called for national unity to combat terror.

The White House said President Barack Obama has been briefed on the Cairo bombings and violent clashes in cities across Egypt that left another 10 people dead.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney urged all sides to condemn and prevent violence. Carney says such behavior will stunt Egypt’s political transition and only hurt the country’s prospects for political and economic stability.

Friday’s attacks fueled fears of an increasing militant insurgency in retaliation for the military’s ouster last year of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the subsequent crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. Hours after the bombings, angry residents joined security forces in clashes with Brotherhood supporters.