Update: Ajnad Misr militants claim bomb that killed officer

The Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) militant group posted statements on its Twitter account claiming responsibility for the bombing that killed one person and injured eight others in Cairo on Friday morning.

A homemade bomb targeting a security patrol exploded in the area between the Gesir al-Suez and Ain Shams neighborhoods, injuring a police officer, seven police recruits and one civilian bystander, according to the state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.

Ambulances transported the injured to the hospital, where police captain Mostafa Shamis died later that afternoon, Al-Ahram reported.

Bomb squads began sweeping the area for other explosive devices amid heightened security across the neighborhood.

The attack was part of the group's ongoing “Vengeance is Life” campaign, the statements said. Ajnad Misr says the campaign only targets security personnel in areas where they know there will be little or no danger to civilians. The militants call the security forces “tyrants” and “criminals,” and say they are committed to “championing the oppressed and the protection of religion.”

This is the latest in a string of recent attacks claimed by Ajnad Misr. The group also released statements on its Twitter account saying it planned the January 25 bombing in east Cairo’s Alf Maskan neighborhood. Officials said two police officers were injured in the attack, though the militants claimed the number was much higher.

Ajnad Misr also claimed a January 23 attack, again in Alf Maskan, targeting Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim’s aides. The group’s statement claimed the bomb killed one policeman and injured several others, but local media only reported four injuries in the explosion.

In November 2014, the day before Salafi groups announced major Friday protests that failed to materialize, an unverified YouTube video purportedly released by Ajnad Misr promised its deadly attacks would continue until Islamic rule was imposed over Egypt.

Ajnad Misr first officially identified itself in tweets on January 23, 2014, the day before it allegedly carried out several bombings across Cairo. However, the group says it has been active since 2013. Unlike other jihadi groups, such as the Province of Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, Ajnad Misr operates exclusively in Cairo, and refuses affiliation with groups such as the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda as it recognizes Egypt’s sovereignty as a nation, according to the group's statements.

Among the major attacks claimed by Ajnad Misr in 2014 were a series of bombings in front of Cairo University on April 2, 2014, that left one officer dead and injured at least five others. Later that month, the group also claimed responsibility for the assassination of a Central Security Forces officer, who the militants accused of killing protesters in the aftermath of former President Mohamed Morsi's ouster.

In May 2014, the Cairo Court of Urgent Affairs designated Ajnad Misr as an illegal terrorist organization.​

Since the revolution's fourth anniversary last month, there has been an increase in bomb attacks across Egypt, most of them committed by unidentified assailants.

Last week, a 26-year-old man died from the injuries he sustained during an explosion in Alexandria.

A bomb exploded in the greater Cairo area of Qalyubiya on January 28 near a checkpoint, injuring seven security personnel. The same day, there was also a bomb defused in downtown Cairo’s Abdel Moneim Riyad Square at a bus stop.

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. The day before, on January 26, a bomb was found and diffused in the popular City Stars shopping mall in Nasr City, Cairo.

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