3 injured in Ghamra bombing

Three people were injured after a homemade bomb went off under Ghamra Bridge, near Downtown Cairo, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Saturday.

Security sources said that a group of garbage collectors were cleaning under the bridge early Saturday morning when they found a strange object. Upon inspecting it, the device went off.

Various media news websites also reported other incidents of homemade bombs planted across the country. The official EgyNews website said that a homemade bomb was found inside Samalout traffic police checkpoint, but it was defused before it exploded.

The state-owned Al-Ahram also reported that another homemade bomb was defused after it was planted on the railway leading to a village in the northern Monofiya governorate early Saturday morning.

Ghamra’s attack is the second attack since yesterday, after a bombing in Arish targeted a military tank injuring seven soldiers, MENA reported.

Security sources in Sinai said that a bomb was planted in the route of a tank, and was remotely blown off once the tank was at close range.

The attack is the first following a deadly bombing last week in Karm al-Qawadees checkpoint in Rafah that killed at least 31 soldiers and injured 25 others. In response, the military launched an intensive offensive to target what it described as “terrorist elements” involved the bombings.

Egypt’s border crossing with Rafah was cleared as part of the military operation, evacuating tens of homes belonging to civilians living in the area.