Blast outside Cairo University wounds 10 — interior ministry

CAIRO — An explosion outside Cairo University wounded 10 people on Wednesday, among them police and civilians, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The blast occurred in a square outside the university at the end of the school day. Six policemen and four civilians were slightly wounded and transferred to hospitals, the statement added.

The ministry said explosives experts were sent to comb the area for additional devices. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

However, Islamist militants have carried out a series of attacks against police and soldiers, mainly in the remote but strategic Sinai region, since the army ousted president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last year after mass protests against his rule.

Cairo University was a focal point for protests against the government that succeeded Morsi until authorities tightened security with the start of the new term this month.

Egypt has cracked down on the Brotherhood and declared it a terrorist organisation, but the group says it is peaceful.

Attacks in the capital are less common than in Sinai but when they do occur, they tend to prompt questions about the effectiveness of the government's efforts to end the bloodshed that has hit tourism, a pillar of the economy.