Blast in Egypt train kills two policemen

A new bombing just 100 meters from a Cairo presidential palace wounded a female passer-by Thursday morning, just hours after a train bomb killed three people, security officials said.

The blast followed an attack on a train north of the Egyptian capital late on Wednesday which killed two policemen and a civilian.

The policemen had been inspecting the rudimentary bomb after the train, in the Menufiya province north of Cairo, stopped at a station when the explosive went off, officials said.

The bomb exploded as police evacuated passengers from the carriage, also wounding eight people, state television reported.

Dozen of policemen and soldiers have been killed in militant attacks since the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year and launched a bloody crackdown on his supporters.

At least 15,000 Islamists have been arrested on suspicion of protesting or participating in violence since Mursi's overthrow.

The authorities have blamed Mursi's now blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood for the violence, although the group insists it is committed to peaceful protests.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief who overthrew Mursi and was subsequently elected, has vowed to eradicate the Islamist movement, which continues to hold small protests.

The deadliest bombings have been carried out by a resilient militant group based in Sinai, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

The group is believed to be responsible for last month's attack on an army checkpoint that killed at least 30 soldiers, the deadliest in years.

Sisi declared a state of emergency law in parts of northern Sinai after that attack and the military has begun demolishing homes along the Sinai border with Gaza to create a buffer zone.

(with Agence France-Presse)