Explosion in Alexandria police station injures 4

Four people were injured in an explosion on the fourth floor of a police station in Montazah, east Alexandria, on Tuesday morning, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reported.

The blast occurred in the passport department of the police station, which a security source told Al-Ahram was crowded with civilians attempting to process their papers when it went off. He speculated that the number of injuries may rise. 

The security source added that they evacuated the building and were searching it for other explosives.

Al-Ahram also reported that a handmade device exploded later on Tuesday morning in front of an educational administrative building in east Alexandria. The blast caused no injuries, and security forces closed off the surrounding area to search for other explosive materials.

Following the January 25 revolution’s fourth anniversary there have been a series of explosive devices discovered throughout Egypt. Last week a 26-year-old man died from the injuries he sustained during an explosion in Alexandria.

A bomb was discovered and defused on January 26 in the popular City Stars shopping mall in Nasr City, Cairo. On January 27, an explosive device went off near a police station in Alexandria, killing one and injuring two. Also on January 27, security forces evacuated the Heliopolis Court building after finding two explosive devices in the nearby area.

A bomb exploded in the greater Cairo area of Qalyubiya on January 28 near a checkpoint, injuring seven security personnel, but causing no casualties. There was also a bomb defused in Abdel Moneim Riyad Square downtown at a bus stop.

Handmade explosive devices have become so common that the popular traffic app, “Bey2ollak” started tweeting in Arabic, #Where_is_the_bomb, so residents can avoid traffic jams caused by explosions.