Reuters, Cairo :
Three people including an army general were killed and at least 26 wounded on Friday in a drive-by shooting and violence that erupted at Islamist protests around Egypt, security sources and health officials said.
Police were out in force for the demonstrations, organised by a hardline Salafi group calling for the ousting of the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the ex-army chief who led last year’s overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
In Matariya, focal point for early afternoon protests in Cairo, a civilian was killed before security forces dispersed the gathering, security sources said.
Hours before the protests, an army brigadier general was killed and two soldiers wounded when gunmen in an unmarked car opened fire in a parking lot in nearby Gesr al-Suez, they said. One of the wounded later died. The demonstrations were small. Reuters witnesses saw no more than 100 or 200 people in Matariya, the largest gathering in Cairo, at any one time.
The Interior Ministry said it had thwarted 10 planned bombings and arrested 224 people nationwide as part of its crackdown on the protests.
Three people including an army general were killed and at least 26 wounded on Friday in a drive-by shooting and violence that erupted at Islamist protests around Egypt, security sources and health officials said.
Police were out in force for the demonstrations, organised by a hardline Salafi group calling for the ousting of the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the ex-army chief who led last year’s overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
In Matariya, focal point for early afternoon protests in Cairo, a civilian was killed before security forces dispersed the gathering, security sources said.
Hours before the protests, an army brigadier general was killed and two soldiers wounded when gunmen in an unmarked car opened fire in a parking lot in nearby Gesr al-Suez, they said. One of the wounded later died. The demonstrations were small. Reuters witnesses saw no more than 100 or 200 people in Matariya, the largest gathering in Cairo, at any one time.
The Interior Ministry said it had thwarted 10 planned bombings and arrested 224 people nationwide as part of its crackdown on the protests.
