Egypt’s state prosecutor dies following bomb attack in Cairo suburb

The courts have been handing out mass death sentences against them in trials harshly criticized as lacking due process.

Authorities on Monday declared June 30 – the second anniversary of mass street protests that led to Morsi’s ouster by the military – a national holiday, but also cancelled all official celebrations in a sign of mourning for Barakat.

Three other people, including two of Barakat’s bodyguards, were injured in the attack in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, reportedly outside Cairo’s military college.

Footage of the funeral on state television showed Mr. Sisi marching behind Mr. Barakat’s flag-draped coffin with other officials.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion was strong enough to shatter glass in nearby storefronts and homes.

Earlier it was reported that he had sustained minor injuries in the attack but later it emerged that he had succumbed to his wounds in a hospital after undergoing a critical surgery. The explosion ripped through the two vehicles, sending a plume of thick black smoke into the air and shattering windows in several high-rise buildings. Several trees had caught fire and firefighters were dousing the area to extinguish the flames.

At the site of Monday’s bombing, rubble and twisted metal was strewn across a city block. Residents, some sobbing, were going through the debris.

Scores of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members, including Morsi, have been sentenced to death.

The family members spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, while the security officials did the same because they were not authorized to brief journalists.

A group called Giza Popular Resistance claimed it first, but someone removed it from their Facebook page and the Twitter account denounced the post. It said it had planted an explosive device placed under Barakat’s vehicle.

Earlier this year, Barakat’s place of work was also targeted when a bomb exploded near the High Court in central Cairo, killing two people.

Last month, the Islamic State militant group’s Egypt affiliate urged followers to attack judges, opening a new front in an Islamist insurgency in Egypt.

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who as army chief toppled Morsi, has blamed his Muslim Brotherhood movement for the violence. Indiana the ensuring crackdown, security forces killed hundreds and detained tens of thousands.

Egypt’s state prosecutor Hisham Barakat has been killed after his motorcade was hit by a bomb blast in the capital Cairo. Egyptian officials continue to be targets of such attacks, which have claimed hundreds of lives.

Monday’s assassination may help the Sisi administration justify its increasing crackdowns on all opposition groups in Egypt, Islamist or not, and it may also help Islamists rally support on the ground, helping to unify cracks among their ranks, such as one brewing between the old guard and the youth.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the attack came less than 24 hours after Isil supporters released a video promising the “liquidation” of Egypt’s judges.