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| Deadly Attacks Heighten Tension in Egypt | Deadly Attacks Heighten Tension in Egypt |
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| CAIRO — Suicide bombers targeting a security checkpoint and a civilian bus killed at least two people in Egypt’s southern Sinai region on Friday, while in the capital, a police officer was killed in an explosion that struck a traffic post, the authorities said. | |
| The spate of attacks came just weeks before Egypt is to hold a presidential election, a milestone officials have asserted will help stabilize the country. | |
| The Sinai attacks occurred just after dawn in El Tor, the provincial capital, about 70 miles from the popular tourist resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, the authorities said. One of the bombers approached a military checkpoint, detonating an explosive that killed two officers and the bomber. In the attack on the bus, the driver told state media that the bomber stood on the road that leads to Sharm el-Sheikh, holding what appeared to be a red icebox that presumably contained the bomb. Four passengers were injured, according to the Interior Ministry. | The Sinai attacks occurred just after dawn in El Tor, the provincial capital, about 70 miles from the popular tourist resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, the authorities said. One of the bombers approached a military checkpoint, detonating an explosive that killed two officers and the bomber. In the attack on the bus, the driver told state media that the bomber stood on the road that leads to Sharm el-Sheikh, holding what appeared to be a red icebox that presumably contained the bomb. Four passengers were injured, according to the Interior Ministry. |
| Attacks on Egypt’s security forces have become routine over the last eight months, but violence targeting civilians has been more rare. The Interior Ministry said the bus had been carrying factory workers, while state media said the passengers worked for a tourism company. | Attacks on Egypt’s security forces have become routine over the last eight months, but violence targeting civilians has been more rare. The Interior Ministry said the bus had been carrying factory workers, while state media said the passengers worked for a tourism company. |
| Later Friday morning, in the Heliopolis neighborhood of Cairo, an explosive device that was apparently planted near a traffic signal killed one officer and injured at least three others, officials said. | Later Friday morning, in the Heliopolis neighborhood of Cairo, an explosive device that was apparently planted near a traffic signal killed one officer and injured at least three others, officials said. |
| The bombings highlighted the faltering effort by the authorities to curb a wave of militancy that began a few months after the army removed Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s last president, in July. Officials fear that the attacks could disrupt the presidential election, which is scheduled to be held on May 26 and 27. | |
| Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the former army officer who led the ouster of Mr. Morsi, is expected to easily win. His role as Egypt’s de facto leader during the harshest crackdown on Islamist dissidents in the country’s recent history has raised questions about whether his election will calm the violence. | Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the former army officer who led the ouster of Mr. Morsi, is expected to easily win. His role as Egypt’s de facto leader during the harshest crackdown on Islamist dissidents in the country’s recent history has raised questions about whether his election will calm the violence. |
| There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s attacks. Previously unknown jihadist groups that rose to prominence in recent months have claimed responsibility for the deadliest recent attacks, often framing them as retaliation for government atrocities. The militants have bombed heavily guarded security headquarters, assassinated police officers on city streets and downed a military helicopter in the Sinai Peninsula using a rocket-propelled grenade. | There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s attacks. Previously unknown jihadist groups that rose to prominence in recent months have claimed responsibility for the deadliest recent attacks, often framing them as retaliation for government atrocities. The militants have bombed heavily guarded security headquarters, assassinated police officers on city streets and downed a military helicopter in the Sinai Peninsula using a rocket-propelled grenade. |
| In February, militants bombed a bus carrying South Korean tourists in a resort town, killing four people. Egyptian officials say hundreds of soldiers and police officers, many of them junior conscripts, have been killed over the last eight months. | In February, militants bombed a bus carrying South Korean tourists in a resort town, killing four people. Egyptian officials say hundreds of soldiers and police officers, many of them junior conscripts, have been killed over the last eight months. |
| Officials have struggled to repair the country’s reputation overseas, battling headlines about each new bombing as the government has watched tourism, a crucial source of foreign currency, evaporate. | Officials have struggled to repair the country’s reputation overseas, battling headlines about each new bombing as the government has watched tourism, a crucial source of foreign currency, evaporate. |