Cairo security chief sacked after terrorist attacks

The Egyptian Interior Ministry sacked Cairo security chief Osama Bedir on Thursday, state-run news agency MENA reported.

"Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar ordered the removal of Cairo police chief General Osama Bedair, and assigned General Khalid Abdel Aal to replace him," a statement released by the interior ministry said, without giving the reason for the decision.

The sacking of the security head of Cairo came days after a series of terrorist attacks in North Sinai and other provinces, including Cairo.

On July 11, a car bomb exploded outside the Italian consulate in downtown Cairo, killing a civilian and wounding nine others. The jihadist Islamic State group later claimed the bomb attack.

The incident came days after another car bomb attack in Cairo, which killed the country's top prosecutor Hisham Barakaton.

Clashes have been common between the army and terrorists, especially in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

In its annual report released in late May, Egypt's National Council for Human Rights said since 2013, the violence has resulted in the death of 2,600 people, including 700 police and army men, 550 civilians and 1,250 of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters. Endit