MANSOURA, EGYPT // Angry Egyptians standing on piles of debris and shattered glass pointed the finger of blame at the Muslim Brotherhood after a car bomb ripped through Mansoura’s police headquarters on Tuesday.
“The people want the execution of the Muslim Brotherhood,” shouted the residents amid the wreckage of burnt-out cars and collapsed walls left by the predawn blast, which peeled off a section of the building.
Fourteen people, most of them policemen, died in the attack and more than 100 were wounded.
At a nearby hospital, the floor of the emergency room was slick with blood as medics rushed in casualties.
Mostafa Hadi, a policeman who survived the attack, said the blast sent him flying through the air moments after he had left the safety of his armoured lorry outside the headquarters.
“I heard a massive explosion behind me, I flew through glass and wreckage and then lost consciousness,” he said from his stretcher, his head swathed in a bandages.
Egypt’s interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, toured the scene of the explosion at daybreak, pledging that the police would “continue their battle against the dark terrorist forces that tried to tamper with the country’s security”, before visiting the wounded in hospital.
The prime minister, Hazem El Beblawi, described the attack as a “terrorist incident” and vowed that the perpetrators “will not escape justice”.
The UAE also condemned attack as a “terrorist, cowardly act” and said it was aimed at “destabilising security and stability” in Egypt, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Egypt has been deeply polarised since the military removed president Mohammed Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, with regular street clashes between his supporters and opponents.
The military-installed government that took office after his removal has launched a crackdown on his supporters, mainly from the Brotherhood, that has left more than 1,000 people dead and thousands arrested.
And it was the Brotherhood that residents of Mansoura, a Nile Delta city north of Cairo, vented their anger at over Tuesday’s attack.
“The Muslim Brotherhood wants to come to power in any way, by shedding blood, using force or by destruction,” Wael Hamdy, 50, said at the site of the blast.
The 85-year-old movement prevailed in a series of polls following the overthrow of the longtime president Hosni Mubarak in 2011, bringing to power Mr Morsi as Egypt’s first freely elected leader.
Tuesday’s explosion was massive and caused a part of the police headquarters to cave in.
Its effect was felt about 20 kilometres away and shattered windows of nearby buildings.
The facade of the police headquarters had been ripped off, and charred and mangled vehicles could be seen amid the debris of collapsed walls of nearby buildings.
Bulldozers were deployed to clear the streets of the debris – the wrecked cars as well as iron bars and slabs of concrete.
Dozens of policemen wearing helmets and brandishing shields took up positions around the blast site, keeping the angry residents away. They cordoned off the headquarters.
“The people, the army and the police are together,” shouted the crowds.
They chanted “we will teach them good manners, we will show the Muslim Brotherhood what real anger is”, as behind them lay the municipal building and a theatre that also bore the brunt of the attack.
The residents, some carrying posters of Mr Morsi in a red prison outfit usually worn by death row inmates, chanted slogans in honour of those killed.
The Brotherhood in a statement condemned the bombing in “strongest possible terms”.
For residents whose homes were shaken by the blast, it was clear who was behind the attack.
“Such an attack is in no one’s interest except the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Mervat Said, a lawyer.
“They are taking revenge against the people and the police.”
Another resident choked with anger as she branded the Brotherhood “our enemies”.
“Anyone who knows a Muslim Brotherhood member should report about him. They are terrorists,” said Hanem Hassan.
A little farther from the blast site, traders were distraught at the sight of their shops destroyed by the blast triggered by kilos of explosives loaded in a car.
The Brotherhood has been a target of a crackdown launched by the authorities since Mr Morsi’s removal.
Thousands of its supporters, including the top leadership, have been arrested.
But the movement continues to stage protests against the authorities, demanding Mr Morsi’s reinstatement.
“Starting from today, they won’t be able to hold any more demonstrations,” said Mohamed Tag, a youngster from Mansoura.
“We will take care of them.”
* Agence France-Presse with additional reporting by Wam and Associated Press
