At least 9 killed in Cairo bomb explosion during police raid

PanARMENIAN.Net - At least nine people, including six policemen, have been killed in a bomb explosion during a raid on a militant hideout in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, according to BBC News.

More than 13 others were injured, including the local police chief.

Security sources say the blast went off as officers raided an apartment in Giza, near the Pyramids.

The government has tightened security ahead of next week's fifth anniversary of the uprising that removed long-time Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The so-called Islamic State said it was behind the blast, while Egyptian authorities blamed the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement of former President Mohammed Morsi.

"Police had information that a group of Muslim Brotherhood members were preparing to carry out aggressive acts in the coming days using explosives and crude bombs," the interior ministry said on its Facebook page.

"This group was using an apartment in a Cairo building, and on Thursday night the police raided this apartment where they found a number of crude bombs. "When the bomb squad experts were dealing with one of the bombs, it exploded."

The Brotherhood has denied any involvement in violence and says it is committed to peaceful activism.