Top police officer killed in Cairo blasts

A senior officer of the police was killed and five others were injured in three blasts Wednesday outside Cairo University, one of the most prominent and oldest universities in Egypt, media reported.

Brigadier-General Tarik al-Margawy, head of Giza security headquarters, was killed during the course of the first two blasts that occurred in the vicinity of the engineering faculty at Cairo University in the heart of the Egyptian capital, Xinhua reported citing state-run Nile TV.

According to an official source, the attack was aimed at assassinating the security chief.

A third blast struck outside Cairo University. The third bomb was planted on a tree near the main gate of the university and no injuries were immediately reported.

A security source told Xinhua that crude bombs were used in the explosions.

The source added that the death toll may increase as the most of those injured were in serious conditions.

The blasts hit the security checkpoint outside the university in Nahda square, one of the basic sit-in venues for the supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Since the ouster of the Islamist leader by the army last July, a wave of explosions has hit the restive Sinai Peninsula against security men and their premises. Lately, there have been blasts in the capital and the Nile delta cities.

A recent governmental report said the death toll from such attacks has reached nearly 500 with most of the victims being soldiers and police personnnel.

The army has launched a large-scale operation since Morsi's removal to uproot the crime hideouts in the restive Sinai. The Al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.