Two killed in Egypt clashes

Two people were killed Friday in clashes between Egyptian police and Islamist protestors in the capital Cairo.

Two protestors were shot dead during the demonstrations in Matariya district and a number of others were also injured in the clashes, Xinhua reported.

The protests were called for by the little-known Salafi Front and the Muslim Brotherhood across the country.

Earlier in the day, a senior army officer was gunned down in a drive-by shooting by unidentified assailants in Cairo's Nasr City neighbourhood.

A non-commissioned officer was also injured in the attack.

Egypt's army and police have taken tight security measures and deployed their personnel across the country's main squares and government buildings ahead of the Islamists' calls to hold massive anti-government protests Friday.

The interior ministry said in a statement Friday that security forces arrested 145 rioters nationwide.

According to the statement, police monitored a number of gatherings in various governorates and managed to disperse them.

Although police announced it defused a number of bombs, a number of blasts took place since Friday morning across the country, causing no casualties.

Egypt has gone through months of terrorist acts and violent protests since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year.

Violence by Morsi's supporters has claimed the lives of hundreds of security personnel.