PHOTO: Egypt’s Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi
A double bombing of a security building in Egypt killed 12 people and injured 134 early Tuesday morning.
The attacks struck the Daqahliya security directorate in Mansoura in the Nile Delta. The Interior Ministry said eight policemen and a civilian were killed, with three bodies unidentified.
The head of Mansoura’s security directorate was among the injured.
An unnamed security source said two bombs detonated almost simultaneously. The first was planted in a higher floor of the building, and the second in a car next to the directorate. A third bomb in a car was defused.
Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi said the attackers hope to block the political process drawn up by the Government following the military coup of July 3:
This is an act of terrorism that aims at frightening the people and obstructing the road map. The black hands behind this act want to destroy the future of our country.
The state will do its utmost to pursue the criminals who executed, planned and supported that attack.
El-Beblawi refused to confirm that he will designate the Muslim Brotherhood — the main force in the Morsi Government overthrown in July — as a terrorist group.
A Cabinet spokesman had blamed the blast on the Brotherhood and said El-Beblawi had officially declared the group a terrorist organization.
Since July, the military-backed Government has detained hundreds of Brotherhood members, sentencing leaders to long prison terms.
The crackdown has been extended recently by the detention and conviction of leading activists and raids on NGOs.
A referendum on a draft Constitution is scheduled for January, with Parliamentary and Presidential elections to follow.
