Egypt militants claim blast near foreign ministry

Islamic State expresses support for attacks on Egyptian institutions, advocates explosives, raids and beheadings

Illustrative: Egyptian police in Cairo, May 2, 2014. (AP/Ahmed Gomaa)
Illustrative: Egyptian police in Cairo, May 2, 2014. (AP/Ahmed Gomaa)

An Egyptian militant group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bomb blast in a busy downtown Cairo street near the Foreign Ministry that killed two senior police officers and wounded several other policemen.

Ajnad Misr, or Soldiers of Egypt, which has claimed previous attacks on police, said in a statement posted late Sunday on its Twitter account and on a militant website that it had used an explosive device on “officers of the criminal apparatus” as part of its campaign against security forces.

It said the attacks will not stop until “the ruling tyrants fall and God’s Shariah is established.”

Similar attacks have intensified since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi more than one year ago.

On Monday, Islamic State, which is not known to be active in Egypt, expressed support for the attack on Egyptian institutions.

“Rig the roads with explosives for them. Attack their bases. Raid their homes. Cut off their heads. Do not let them feel secure,” IS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said in an online statement, according to a Reuters.

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