At least six people, including three police officers, are dead and thirteen others are wounded after a bomb exploded near a road leading to the ancient pyramids of Giza, Egypt's Interior Ministry revealed.
"Six people have been killed in the blast, including three policemen. The others include a civilian and two unidentified men," a police statement said, according to The Express.
Sources indicate that the incident occurred Thursday as police arrived in their vehicles in front of a building where suspected militants were hiding. They discovered the building was booby trapped, and the device exploded while an explosives expert was working to dismantle it.
"As the explosive expert was working on one of these explosives to secure the apartment, a booby trap blew up," killing three police officers and a citizen passing by, the ministry explained, according to CNN.
Following the incident, the Interior Ministry blamed the explosion on the Muslim Brotherhood militants in an official statement, saying that the bomb had been planted there and exploded when authorities tried to raid the building. However, ISIS claimed responsibility for the event the next day on Twitter.
The statement was unable to be independently verified by media, but the design and logo resembled previous IS statements, reported the Associated Press. ISIS also claimed that 10 security officers were killed and 20 other people were wounded in the attack.
Attacks against Egyptian police and soldiers have been on the rise ever since the 2013 toppling of President Morsi Mohamed in 2013 following mass protests against his rule.
