A police brigadier-general was killed and seven others were injured after a series of explosions rocked the outside of Cairo University in Giza, state media said.
According to officials, the bombs, which were hidden in a tree, went off seconds apart Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.
A third bomb, which Egypt’s interior minister said was also hidden in a tree, exploded soon after near a police checkpoint.
The explosion took place during clashes between students and security forces outside the university’s engineering building.
The officer killed in the blasts has been identified as General Tarek al-Mergawi. According to AFP news agency, al-Mergawi was an undercover chief detective and would have been dressed in plain clothes.
Police secured the area to search for other explosive devices. Helwan University, which is south of Cairo, was also evacuated. According to state TV, arrests have been made north of Cairo at Mansoura University.
Responsibility claimed
Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by an armed group, known as Ajnad Misr, or “Egypt’s Soldiers”, Aljazeer reported. The group posted a statement to their Twitter, saying the attacks were in response to the treatment of its women.
The group explained that the attack followed an increased arrest campaign targeted toward their women and girls. The group also vowed that the attacks would continue as long as the women remain in prison.
Al Jazeera says it is unable to identify the authenticity of the Twitter account.
The group also said that the third device was delayed to protect citizens, who would have fled after the first two explosions. The first blasts were aimed at what Ajnad Misr labels “leaders of criminal instruments.”
This attack was the most recent in a series of violent protests and military actions since the coup that ousted President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
