Security forces defuse 2 homemade bombs at checkpoint near Imbaba

Security forces defused two explosive devices planted at a security checkpoint on the Ring Road near Giza's Imbaba neighborhood on Friday.

There were no casualties or injuries reported in the incident.

Major General Magdy al-Shalaqany, the head of the Giza Civil Protection Forces, stated that he deployed a bomb squad to the site of the attempted attack after receiving a report of two suspicious devices on the road.

The devices proved to be homemade bombs constructed out of 25 x 12 cm canisters containing highly explosive TNT, nitrates and black powder, which were connected to a timer and a battery. The bomb squad defused the devices without incident.

Preliminary investigations suggest that this checkpoint was targeted because it is a well-known meeting area for Central Security Forces deployed to disperse Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated protests, which typically occur every Friday.

The police have not yet identified the assailants.

On Tuesday, six policemen were killed and two were injured when a roadside bomb targeting their vehicle exploded in the North Sinai city of Rafah.

Fatal attacks on police and military forces have been intensified since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power last July. The Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, which was declared a terrorist organization in April, has claimed the majority of the attacks, while other bombings and assaults have been claimed by newly formed militant groups based in Sinai and Cairo.