Attacks surge in Egypt, a day after deadly clashes
CAIRO (AP) — A string of attacks killed nine members of Egypt’s security and military forces and hit the country’s main satellite communications station Monday, in an apparent retaliation by Islamic militants a day after more than 50 supporters of the ousted president were killed in clashes with police.
The attacks show a dangerous expansion of targets, including the first strike against civilian infrastructure in the heart of the capital. They also blur the lines between the wave of Islamist protests against the military ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, and an insurgency that had been previously been largely confined to the northern Sinai Peninsula.
It is also likely to harden positions of the military-backed government and its opponents, making reconciliation more difficult.
“We are at war with them,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, the country’s interior minister in charge of security forces, pointing to militant groups. He suggested the surge in attacks, particularly the targeting of the satellite station— which left a minor damage on one of the dishes — was in retaliation for the government crackdown on Sunday’s protests.
“This is an attempt to prove they are still around and are not broken,” he told The Associated Press, without specifying which groups are behind the attacks. “They also aim to confuse, to distract” security forces.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/attacks-surge-in-egypt-a-day-after-deadly-clashes/
