CAIRO: Egyptian police said on Saturday that four Islamists were killed in an accidental explosion while preparing bombs south of the capital.

Police said the suspected militants were members of the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood movement of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, whom the army toppled in 2013.

The explosion took place on Friday on a farm in the province of Beni Suef south of Cairo, the interior ministry said in a statement. Police found bomb-making materials at the site, the ministry said.

Morsi’s overthrow, prompted by mass street protests against his year-long rule, was followed by a deadly crackdown on his supporters and a surge in militant attacks on police.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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