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Bomb Blasts in Egypt's Alexandria Kill One, Wound 9

Separate bomb blasts on Sunday in Egypt's port city of Alexandria, including one near a branch of a French supermarket chain, killed one person and wounded nine, police said.

Since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, militants have repeatedly set off bombs in Cairo and Alexandria, but the deadliest attacks have been in the Sinai Peninsula.

One bomb went off just meters (yards) away from a Carrefour supermarket in Alexandria, killing a passenger on a minibus that was driving past and wounding six passers-by, police said.

Initial reports that the facade of the French supermarket branch had been damaged were later denied by police.

A separate bombing in the Mediterranean city targeted a police station and wounded three bystanders, police said.

Later a third blast outside another police station in the city caused no casualties or damage.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or clear motive for the attacks.

The bombings come three weeks after France signed an agreement with Egypt for the sale of 24 Rafale fighter jets, in a deal boosting Cairo's military as it tackles jihadists on two fronts.

Experts say those behind such attacks that use home-made bombs seek to sow fear among foreign investors, particularly ahead of a conference hosted by Cairo to attract badly needed investment.

The March 13-15 conference in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is aimed at helping to revive an economy battered by four years of political and security unrest.

The Cairo government says hundreds of police and soldiers have been killed in Egypt since Morsi's overthrow in revenge attacks by jihadists.

Amnesty International says that since Morsi's ouster, a brutal crackdown on his supporters has killed more than 1,400 people, while thousands more have been jailed.

Source: Agence France Presse


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