Egypt police general killed in Cairo blast: security

CAIRO (AFP) - An Egyptian police general was killed and an assistant interior minister wounded in twin bombings targeting security posts near Cairo University on Wednesday, police said.

The attack was the latest by militants targeting security forces following Islamist president Mohamed Mursi's overthrow in July.

The rudimentary bombs also wounded five policemen, the interior ministry said, identifying the slain officer as Brigadier General Tarek al-Mergawi.

A police general at the scene told AFP that the bombs were concealed in a tree between two small police posts.

"I was waiting for the bus when I heard two explosions. There was dust in the air and policemen were screaming," said a witness, Sakta Mostafa.

A student in Cairo University said he ran out of the campus after hearing the explosions.

"I found a lifeless man in plain clothes and a policeman bleeding from his leg," said the student, Amr Adel.

Mergawi was a chief detective who would have been dressed in civilian clothes.

The government says militants have killed almost 500 people, most of them policemen and soldiers, in attacks since Morsi's overthrow amid a deadly crackdown on his Islamist supporters.

Most of the attacks have taken place in the Sinai Peninsula, a hub of militant activity, but the jihadists have increasingly targeted police in the capital and the Nile Delta.

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