Roundup: Little-known group behind deadly bomb attack in Egypt

A minor Islamist military faction claimed responsibility for the bomb attack that killed six Egyptian policemen in the country's Giza governorate Friday.

In a press release published on Telegram social media application, a military faction named Hasm said its fighters targeted a group of policemen with highly explosive bombs in Giza's Haram Street.

"The explosion took place at 9:55 a.m. local time (0755 GMT)," the statement said, adding that "the attack killed six policemen and injured three others."

Hasm is an acronym of Arabic phrase "Haraket Sawid Misr," which literally means "Egypt's Forearms Movement."

The movement, which the government labels as an armed wing of the outlawed Muslim brotherhood group, emerged recently as it announced its first operation in mid July when its gunmen assassinated a high-ranking police officer in the Delta province of al-Fayyoum.

In August, the group also claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt of Egypt's former highest Islamic official Ali Gomaa.

Friday's attack came one week after security forces killed three militants affiliated with Hasm during clashes in Upper Egypt's Assiut city.

Earlier on Friday, ministry of interior announced that six policemen were killed when bombs exploded at a security checkpoint on a road leading to the Pyramids, adding that the blast also injured three other policemen and three civilians.

Security sources revealed that two bombs, triggered by remote control, were planted in a dust bin under a tree.

After the attack, bomb disposal teams blocked all the roads to the Pyramids, while search operation for suspects and other possible explosives were launched.

Interior ministry has also formed an investigation team to determine the materials used in the explosion.

In Egypt, bomb attacks are endemic in North Sinai Province, where Islamic State-affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group has carried out hundreds of anti-security attacks following the ouster of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the army in response to mass protest against his rule in 2013.

However, some attacks crept to Cairo and other major cities across the most populous Arab country.

The terrorist attacks have claimed lives of hundreds of police and army personnel as well as a number of civilians.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail offered condolences to the families of the victims.

"This proves that terrorism has no religion," the prime minister said in a statement.

Ismail also hailed the sacrifices made by policemen alongside with Armed Forces troops to restore security and safety.

The attack was also condemned by Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's top Sunni Islamic institution.

"Such terrorist acts will make Egyptians and policemen more resolved on going ahead in uprooting terrorism aimed at destabilizing the country," Ahmed al-Tayyeb said in a press statement. Endit