Egypt removes Cairo security chief amid surge in militant violence

Thursday 16-07-2015 09:03 PM
Egypt removes Cairo security chief amid surge in militant violence

Police officers wait in their vehicle in front of the damaged Cairo Security Directorate building, which includes police and state security, and Museum of Islamic Art building, after a bomb attack in downtown Cairo, January 24, 2014. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

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Cairo's security chief, Osama Bedair, was sacked on Thursday following a series of militant attacks that security forces failed to curb.

The interior ministry said in a statement that Bedair was replaced by his deputy, General Khaled Abdel-Aal, but did not elaborate on the reason for the dismissal.

"Interior Minister, Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar, ordered the removal of Cairo Police Chief, General Osama Bedair, and assigned General Khaled Abdel-Aal to replace him," the statement read.

Bedair was appointed four months ago following a ministerial reshuffle that included a replacement of the interior minister. His removal comes amidst mounting concerns over a surge in militant violence.

Earlier this week, a car bomb attack at the Italian consulate in central Cairo killed one civilian and injured ten others. The assault was claimed by an Islamic State affiliate that has carried out the deadliest attacks as part of an escalating insurgency following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Late in June, the country's top public prosecutor was assassinated in a car bomb attack on his convoy as he was leaving his home in northeast Cairo. He was the highest-ranking state official to die in the recent wave of violence.

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