Attempted Bombing Of U.S. Embassy In Cairo Fails

An attempted terrorist attack on the United States Embassy in Cairo failed on Tuesday when a makeshift bomb in the backpack of the would-be perpetrator detonated prematurely. The Egyptian government wrote in a statement that Abdullah Ayman Abdel-Samie, 24, was arrested after a bottle containing flammable chemicals exploded as he was walking towards the embassy compound. The statement added that the device was intended for “hostile action” and that the suspect had “embrace[d] extremist ideas.” Nobody was injured in the incident and the operations of the American mission went largely uninterrupted. Egypt has been plagued by a violent insurgency since Abdel al-Fattah al-Sisi in 2013 overthrew then-president Mohamed Morsi, a member of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian army has since then waged a fierce counter-terrorism battle primarily against an Islamic State-affiliated group based in the Sinai Peninsula.