Egypt’s Interior Minister Targeted By Bomb Attack; Mohamed Ibrahim Survives, 2 Dead
![Egypt's Interior Minister Escapes Death From Bomb In Cairo](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/255647/egypts-interior-minister-escapes-death-bomb-cairo.jpg?w=600&f=c6f008974f7662d6a3550d8392e35436)
A bomb targeted at Egypt's interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, has killed at least two people and wounded 10, but left the minister unscathed. The remote-controlled bomb blew up Ibrahim’s convoy as he drove through Cairo’s Nasr City district, according to security officials.
Just hours after the attack, Ibrahim appeared on state TV and called the attack a “cowardly assassination bid” and a “despicable attempt” at taking his life. At least three explosive devices were detonated by a remote control near his car, shortly after he left his home in Nasr on Thursday morning.
An interior ministry official said that Ibrahim, who is completely unharmed, missed the explosion by a few mere seconds. According to Ibrahim, his guards were injured, as well as one police officer who is currently in critical condition and another who lost his legs.
Although the attack hasn’t been claimed by anyone or a group as of yet, it marks the first attack on a senior government official since a coupe toppled the Islamist President, Mohamed Morsi, in early July. Once the president was ousted, a myriad of violent confrontations erupted between security forces and Morsi’s Islamist supporters. Egyptian prosecutors recently ordered Morsi to stand trial on murder-related charges as a result of the deaths between Brotherhood loyalists and anti-Morsi protesters.
According to the New York Times, the military and police have killed a combined 1,000 protesters since Morsi was forced out.
Dr. Amr Darrag, a senior official of the Brotherhood, responded to the recent attack and says his group “strongly condemns” the attempt on Ibrahim’s life. Darrag told Al Jazeera, an Arabic television network, “We reaffirm our peaceful approach, which is clear in all our protests.”
Ibrahim said that he has been informed of current plans to kill him and has taken steps toward protection by using an armored car for transportation, provided by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, head of the armed forces. Ibrahim said the attackers involved are “foreign elements.”
When Ibrahim was asked by reporters if the attack was a precedent of a “new wave of terrorism” for Egypt, he replied, “What happened today is not the end but the beginning.”