Bomb attacks in Egypt killed seven people on Friday, six of them policemen. The interior ministry said this is the latest in a string of attacks on security forces.

The first attack took place at a checkpoint on a road to the pyramids. The attack killed six policemen and injured three others. The Hasm Movement claimed responsibility for the attack. The second attack took place in Kafr El-Sheikh in the Nile Delta, killing a civilian and injuring three policemen. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the second attack.

New militant movements in Egypt

Militants have repeatedly attacked security and military forces after the army overthrew Egypt's democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013. Morsi was a member of the now banned Muslim Brotherhood, which the Hasm Movement allegedly has ties to. Both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hasm Movement have confirmed the link.

The Hasm Movement and Lawaa Al-Thawra, which is also considered to be associated with the Muslim Brotherhood by Egyptian police, have claimed several attacks in recent months. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen have been killed since Morsi was overthrown.

The Egyptian government is fighting militant groups in the Sinai Peninsula, where fighters loyal to the Islamic State are located, as well as Islamist groups around the country. Security forces killed three suspected Hasm Movement members in a raid on a hideout in southern Egypt on Tuesday.

kbd/bw (AFP, dpa, Reuters)