Bomb blast on central Cairo bridge kills at least 1

Published : Apr 5, 2015 - 21:18 Updated : Apr 5, 2015 - 21:24

CAIRO (AP) - A bomb blast on a bridge leading to an upscale neighborhood in central Cairo killed a policeman and wounded at least two passers-by on Sunday, police said.

An Associated Press reporter saw a mangled corpse hanging out of a truck on the bridge, which spans the Nile River connecting the Giza district to the wealthy island neighborhood of Zamalek, where many embassies are located.

Dozens of people gathered at the scene, some yelling in outrage, others in fear or grief. Several cars were stopped in traffic with their windows blown out.

"All of a sudden a bomb exploded and there was lots of smoke,'' said Ahmed Hussein, an eyewitness who was on the bridge at the time of the blast. "The soldier in the kiosk was killed. His body was torn apart.''

A police officer at the scene said one person was killed, while another reached by telephone confirmed the death and said an additional man and a woman were seriously wounded.

The second officer said initial reports indicated that a sedan slowed down near the police kiosk, as if to ask for directions, and placed explosives before driving away. Bomb squads combed the area after the blast and police cordoned it off.

Police spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to brief journalists.

Attacks mainly targeting Egyptian security forces have spiked since the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi following massive protests against his divisive rule.

The bombings in Cairo have mainly consisted of small, homemade explosives that cause few casualties. They have hit civilian areas, including Cairo's leafy Maadi suburb, where many foreigners live, but such incidents are extremely rare in Zamalek.