CAIRO — Egypt's new Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar has made major changes to his senior police command, a ministry statement said late Friday, as security forces struggle with ongoing militant attacks. Abdel Ghaffar was appointed Thursday after his predecessor, Mohamed Ibrahim, who spearheaded a deadly police crackdown against supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, was removed in a Cabinet reshuffle. The minister appointed 25 new commanders to head various top security posts in a major shake-up. The changes include appointing aides for national security and security in the Sinai Peninsula, where a growing Islamist insurgency has killed scores of policemen and soldiers. Police commanders in several governorates and cities including Cairo were also changed. Egypt has been struggling to crush militant attacks that have been on the rise since Morsi's removal in 2013. Egyptian air strikes have killed 25 militants in North Sinai over the last two days, security sources said, targeting an insurgency that seeks to topple the Cairo government. North Sinai is the epicenter of the insurrection that has killed hundreds of police and soldiers since then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 after mass protests against his rule. But small-scale attacks also hit many parts of the country and the capital, highlighting the challenge confronting the security forces of the Arab world's most populous country. One person was killed and 11 others wounded in a bomb attack late Friday outside a mobile phone shop and a bank in the textile hub of Mahallah, north of Cairo. Several explosive devices have been set off near phone shops in Cairo recently, although they have been rudimentary. — Agencies
