CAIRO - A bomb blast outside the security headquarters in one of Egypt’s Nile Delta cities wounded 19 people, security officials said early today, raising fears of deteriorating security after President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster.
Eleven people have been killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted president since Monday. Most were killed in pre-dawn street battles near a pro-Morsi protest camp as the country remained mired in turmoil three weeks after the military overthrew the Islamist leader.
The bloodshed is widening the divisions between Morsi’s supporters and the military-backed administration and diminishing the chances of reconciliation.
The police force, widely hated for its brutality and widespread abuses over the years, has been the target of fierce attacks in Egypt’s volatile northern Sinai Peninsula.
This morning’s bomb explosion appeared to target police in the provincial capital city of Mansoura in the delta province of Dakahliya.
It raised the specter that indiscriminate attacks targeting security forces could expand beyond traditional targets in northern Sinai.
Security officials said 19 people were wounded - 13 policemen and six civilians - when the bomb outside the security directorate exploded after midnight Tuesday. The city was bustling with people, as is common during the Islamic month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the day and stay up late eating and praying.
Police officials exchanged gunfire with unidentified people inside a nearby abandonedbuilding afterward. No further details were immediately available.
Presidential spokesman Ahmad al-Muslimani released a statement calling the bombing an act of terrorism.
“The Mansoura terrorist incident will not waver Egypt’s resolve,” he said. “Egypt has triumphed in the war against terrorism before and will win again today.”
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood party condemned the attack in a statement posted on the group’s website and vowed to hold peaceful protests, saying they would not be dragged into violence.
Morsi’s continued detention fuels anger among his supporters. Egypt’s first freely elected leader has been held incommunicado and without charge.
Running street battles that began before dawn Tuesday were among the most intense since the crisis began on July 3.
Clashes broke out after Morsi supporters began marching from their sit-in outside the main campus of CairoUniversity to a nearby mosque. The protesters blocked roads, causing traffic jams and angering residents.
Security officials said the fighting turned deadly after masked gunmen appeared and started shooting at the Morsi supporters with live ammunition including birdshot. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, had no word on the identities of the gunmen.
The Muslim Brotherhood, however, blamed the killings on “thugs” sponsored by the Interior Ministry, a claim the Islamist group from which Morsi hails often uses to dismiss the notion that it was at odds with other segments of the population.
In a separate development, two rights groups - Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International - urged Egyptian authorities to investigate a spate of attacks against Christians after Morsi’s ouster and bring their perpetrators to account.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 07/24/2013