Militant group claims responsibility for Egypt's Mansoura bombing

CAIRO

By Mohamed al-Walid

A militant group has claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing on Tuesday at a security headquarters in northern Egypt.

At least 16 people were killed when a car bomb rocked a security directorate in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura early Tuesday.

In a Wednesday statement, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis said the attack had been carried out "to avenge Egypt's Muslims."

The group added that the attack came "in response to the apostate regime, which fights Islamic sharia and sheds the blood of Muslims and the weak."

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has claimed several recent attacks against Egyptian army and security forces, including a failed September assassination attempt on Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim.

Egypt has been in turmoil since the military removed elected president Mohamed Morsi from power on July 3 following mass protests against his administration.

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