• 23:33
  • Monday ,07 July 2014
العربية

Prosecution still investigating Ithadiya bombings

By the Cairo Post

Copts and Poliltical Islam

00:07

Monday ,07 July 2014

Prosecution still investigating Ithadiya bombings

Prosecution authorities did not find any new evidence while going through security tapes while investigating the Ithadiya bombings near the presidential palace on June 30 that killing two bomb squad experts.

The Heliopolis prosecution examined all security tapes it received from buildings near the area but the videos did not reveal any unusual activities and no suspects were identified. The near-by National Bank’s security tapes did not cover the crime scene since it was set at an off angle, Al-Masry l-Youm reported Sunday.

Head of the bomb squad department Alaa Abdul Zaher declared that Ahmed al-Ashmawy, who was killed while trying to diffuse one of the bombs planted in Ithadiya, had succeeded in diffusing the bomb while wearing a special protection suit.

The Ministry of Interior received wide criticism and accusations of negligence in dealing with danger. A video by Youm7 had caught the explosion live on tape. It showed Ashmawy dressed in a shirt and trousers working on the bomb that exploded seconds later.

Abdel Zaher denied the claims, adding that Ashmawy was properly dressed in the protection suit and had cleared the area before he took off his protection vest. Abdel Zaher said the bomb exploded accidently while he was trying to prevent a journalist form getting closer, he said in a Sunday press statement.

Authorities still await investigation reports of the bombings throughout Cairo on July 3, with suspects in police custody who were arrested in one of the bombs that targeted a military hospital in Abbasseya.

A few days before the bombings, an alleged militant group named Ajnad Misr had issued a statement warning of the attacks and determining specific locations where the bombs would be located. The Ministry of Interior however stated in a press conference Friday that the area was clear after Ajnad Masr’s statement.