Seven die in Egypt bombings, clashes

Cairo - Seven people died in Egypt on Friday amid a series of bombings that targeted security forces, coupled with clashes that erupted as supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi took to the streets.

The latest blast took place late on Friday in central Cairo, when a car with no plates exploded, killing its driver, the Interior Ministry said.

Earlier, a series of bombings in Cairo and the restive Sinai Peninsula killed four people, according to the Health Ministry.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint in the town of al-Tur in southern Sinai, leaving one soldier dead and six injured.

In another apparently synchronised attack in the area, a second suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying workers, killing himself and injuring five civilians, a security official said on condition of anonymity.

Blame

In Cairo, a soldier was killed and four wounded when a homemade bomb exploded outside a court, the Interior Ministry said.

Earlier reports said the blast in the eastern Cairo quarter of Heliopolis had killed two policemen. Islamist extremists in Sinai have targeted security forces since the 2011 uprising that overthrew long-time president Hosny Mubarak.

The attacks have intensified and spread to mainland Egypt since the army deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July following massive demonstrations against his one-year rule.

Military-backed authorities blamed the violence on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and designated it a terrorist organisation.

Shortly after the blasts, two people were killed when clashes erupted between Morsi backers and locals in the northern city of Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said.

Police arrested 42 people nationwide, including 27 in Alexandria, for possession of petrol bombs and weapons, the ministry added.

Friday's attacks come ahead of Egypt's presidential elections scheduled for 26 - 27 May. Ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, the architect of Morsi's overthrow, is the lead contender.