Two people were killed when a bomb exploded under a car in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Saturday in what appeared to be an assassination attempt on the city’s security chief.
The blast went off as a motorcade carrying Major General Mostafa al-Nemr, Alexandria’s top security official, was passing by in the Roshdi district.
The explosion killed a policeman and another person and wounded four other police officers, according to the state news agency MENA.
“On Saturday March 24 an explosive device planted underneath a car exploded … as the Alexandria security chief drove by,” the interior ministry statement said.
Pictures shared on social media showed smoke billowing from the burned out remains of a car.
No terror group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. ISIS released a video last month in which it warned Egyptians against taking part in the upcoming vote and urged its Muslim terrorists to attack security forces and leaders.
ISIS attempted to assassinate Egypt’s defense and interior ministers in December during a trip the pair made to the Sinai Peninsula, where the terror group has been waging an insurgency for almost five years.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Friday that ISIS terrorists would soon be defeated in the Sinai as he visited troops battling the jihadists there.
Polls will open on Monday when voters choose between Sisi and one little-known candidate who supports the former field marshal. All credible opponents dropped out in January, citing intimidation by the authorities after the main challenger was jailed.
