Two bombs exploded on Sunday in Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria, one outside a popular supermarket chain and another near a police station, killing one person and wounding at least 7, security officials said.
The blasts are the latest in a bombing campaign blamed on Islamist militants who are targeting foreign and local economic and financial establishments. The campaign seems designed to undermine confidence in Egypt ahead of a major, three-day economic conference scheduled to open Friday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm Al Shaikh.
Egypt plans to announce projects worth up to $35 billion during the conference.
The officials said the first blast, followed by a flash bang grenade, took place outside a branch of Carrefour in Alexandria’s eastern district of Seyouf, killing one person and injuring 6. The second bomb exploded outside the city’s Muharram Bek police station, injuring one person.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
On Saturday, a bomb exploded in front of the branch of a major Emirati bank in a Nile Delta town north of the capital, Cairo. The blast killed a policeman and a civilian and wounded 16 others.
The United Arab Emirates is one of several Gulf Arab countries that have sent billions of dollars in aid to Egypt since the ouster in July 2013 of Islamist President Mohammad Mursi. The funds kept the ailing Egyptian economy afloat and bolstered the rule of President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi - a former military chief who took office nearly a year after leading the ouster of Mursi.
The attacks, mostly centered in Cairo, have targeted offices of foreign mobile phone companies as well as branches of an American fast food chain. They have also targeted shopping malls, busy streets and courthouses, disrupting life and creating the image of a country mired in unrest.
