Thread: 8 killed, 85 injured in explosion at Egyptian government building

Report: At least eight killed in explosion at Egyptian government building

By Salma Abdelaziz and Steve Almasy, CNN
updated 7:23 PM EST, Mon December 23, 2013


One blast occurred on one of the top floors of the building and was followed by a car bomb, MENA reported.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Acting PM calls it a terrorist incident, vows to punish perpetrators
• Two blasts hit an Interior Ministry building in Mansoura
• About 85 people were injured, according to one report
• Witness says he saw one person pulled from underneath the rubble

(CNN) -- At least eight people were killed Monday night when two explosions hit an Interior Ministry building of Dakahlia governorate in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, according to media reports from Egypt.

Al-Ahram, a semi-official news agency, reported that the general manager of Mansoura's hospitals said 85 people were injured in addition to the eight dead.

Among the people injured is the head of the security directorate, state-news agency MENA added, citing Health Ministry officials. Part of the building collapsed after the explosion, MENA said.

One blast occurred on one of the top floors of the building and was followed by a car bomb, MENA reported.

Egypt's interim Prime Minister Hazem al Beblawi called it a terrorist incident and said the perpetrators will not go unpunished.

Ahmed El Shabrawy was at his home when he heard a loud blast. He told CNN it took him five minutes to run to the building where he saw a man pulled by other residents from the rubble of the building. He estimated that dozens of cars were damaged, and there was a large area around one of the blast sites were there was "heavy material damage."

At least 10 ambulances had responded to the scene, he said.

CNN first learned of the blasts from Twitter.

The blasts come in the lead-up to Egypt's referendum on a new constitution, which will be held January 14 and 15.

The draft constitution would ban religious parties and put more power in the hands of the military.

A military coup in July unseated Mohamed Morsy, the democratically elected President.

Since then there have been almost daily protests, some of which have ended in violence and other bombings, such as one on December 12 when 20 police recruits were injured in a car bomb attack.

Morsy, an Islamist leader, has endured a series of legal troubles.
He and 132 others will face trial for escaping from prison in 2011, state media reported Saturday.

Morsy will be tried along with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian Hamas, al-Ahram reported.

He is also charged with raiding other prisons, and killing soldiers and officers in Rafah, it said.

He has been in custody since his ouster.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/23/world/...html?hpt=hp_t2

Report: At least 14 killed in explosions at Egyptian government building

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Christian Science Monitor See realtime coverage

Egypt's Brotherhood gets the blame for police compound bombing Christian Science Monitor - ‎1 hour ago‎ Egypt's prime minister declared the Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist" organization after multiple explosions at the security headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura killed at least 12 and injured more than 100.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/1224/Egypt-s-Brotherhood-gets-the-blame-for-police-compound-bombing