Egyptian police station attack leaves 14 dead

By Agencies in Mansoura, Egypt | China Daily | Updated: 2013-12-25 07:13

A car bomb tore through a police building in an Egyptian city early on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people, an attack authorities said was aimed at derailing the country's transition to democracy.

Hours after the bombing, Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi labeled the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned movement of ousted president Mohammed Morsi, a "terrorist" group, though Beblawi did not blame the organization for the blast.

The attack, one of the deadliest since the military removed Morsi in July, comes just weeks before a referendum on a new Constitution that is billed as the first major step toward democracy after the Islamist leader's overthrow.

The bomb ripped through the police headquarters in the city of Mansoura, north of Cairo, security officials said. Medics said at least 14 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

The security sources said the explosion was massive and a part of the building had caved in.

"The majority of the casualties were police," said Omar al-Shawatsi, the governor of Daqahleya, of which Mansoura is the capital.

The impact of the explosion was felt about 20 km away and shattered windows of nearby buildings, the security sources said.

The head of security for Daqahleya, Sami El-Mihi, was wounded in the blast, and two of his aides were killed, security sources said.

An AFP correspondent said the blast had ripped off the building's facade. The wreckage of an armored police car stood nearby, and at least 10 civilian cars were damaged and a nearby building collapsed, he said.

Angry residents vented fury at the Muslim Brotherhood.

"The Muslim Brotherhood is an international terrorist organization. They are responsible for what happened in Mansoura," said Hamada Arafat, a school teacher.

"They are now adopting tactics like al-Qaida's."

There has been widespread bloodshed in Egypt since Morsi was ousted on July 3.

He was removed from power after massive street protests against his turbulent one-year rule, with millions accusing him of power-grabbing and economic mismanagement.

Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed in a government crackdown on his supporters, including hundreds on Aug 14 in Cairo when police stormed two protest camps of his Islamist supporters.

The crackdown has also seen thousands of Islamists, including the entire leadership of the Brotherhood, arrested.

The movement's top leadership - including its supreme guide, Mohammed Badie - have been put on trial. Morsi too is on trial over several charges that include some related to the deaths of protesters during his presidency.

Egyptian prosecutors and officials say the Muslim Brotherhood has links with Islamist militants who have stepped up attacks on security forces across the country but mainly in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

Bombing condemned

Beblawi said Tuesday's bomb attack was an attempt to thwart the country's steps toward democracy and declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group.

"Prime Minister Beblawi has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization," state news agency MENA quoted Beblawi's spokesman, Sherif Showky, as saying.

On Tuesday, the Brotherhood condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms", and also lashed out at Beblawi.

"It is no surprise that Beblawi, the military junta's puppet prime minister, has decided to exploit the blood of innocent Egyptians through inflammatory statements designed to create further violence, chaos and instability," the Brotherhood said in a statement.