Two killed, cops injured at Egypt’s uprising anniversary

TWO protesters were killed in Egypt and a bomb wounded two policemen on Sunday, the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak, security sources said.

The anniversary is a test of whether Islamists and liberal activists facing one of Egypt’s toughest security crackdowns have the resolve to challenge the U.S.-backed government once again.

Security forces have been stamping out dissent in Egypt since then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted elected president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

Dozens of protesters were killed during last year’s anniversary of the revolt. This time, security forces were taking no chances, fanning out across the capital and elsewhere.

A protester died on Sunday from birdshot wounds in Alexandria, Egypt’s second biggest city, the security sources said. The Interior Ministry said the man had been armed. A Health Ministry official said the man was 52 years old.

A second protestor was killed by birdshot in the Cairo suburb of Matariya as hundreds of people demonstrated, security sources said.

Separately, a bomb targeted policemen stationed outside a Cairo sports club, the sources said.

In the Nile Delta region of Baheira, about 170 km (104 miles) from Cairo, two militants were killed when bombs they were planting exploded, state television reported.