2 dead in Foreign Ministry explosion

Two lieutenant colonels were killed Sunday in an explosion near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 26 of July Street close to the center of downtown Cairo, state media reported. 

Lieutenant colonels Mohamed Abu Serea and Khaled Saafan were killed by a primitive explosive device that was planted near a tree, according to initial investigations.

Seven others were injured in the explosion, state-owned news agency MENA reported.

The device was planted in front of Gate Three at the Foreign Ministry in the busy Bulaq Abu Ela neighborhood, state newspaper Al-Ahram reported.

There were no damages to the Foreign Ministry building, MENA reported, while authorities heightened the security presence in the area.

The site of the explosion was quickly crowded with onlookers and security forces, who combed the area for other explosive devices.

According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Abu Serea gave a testimony in the ongoing Wadi al-Natrun prison case last year in his capacity as head of the prison’s investigations, in which former President Mohamed Morsi is accused of escaping the prison during the 2011 revolution and smuggling arms and Palestinian militants into Egypt.

A video of his testimony circulated following the explosion, in which it is alleged that armed groups attacked the prison from their vehicles, riling up the prisoners who smashed the walls with fire extinguishers.  

A court session for the trial coincided with the explosion on Sunday.

Egypt has witnessed violence against security forces since Morsi's ouster in July 2013.

Attacks usually target police stations and security directorates.