Two army officers were killed in drive-by shootings while a man was shot dead amid clashes in Cairo between police and protesters, as planned Islamist demonstrations kick off in the capital and other governorates on Friday.
Both officers were shot in the early morning, with the first killed on Gesr Al-Suez Street, east of Cairo, and the second in the Abu-Zaabal area of Qalioubiya governorate, north of Cairo.
Two others – an officer and a conscript accompanying the Gesr Al-Suez officer – were injured and have been transferred to hospital, the army said in a statement, as reported by state-run news agency MENA.
Meanwhile, a man died from gunshot wounds sustained near clashes in the east Cairo district of Matariya, a spokesman for the health ministry told Ahram Online.
It is unclear whether he was taking part in the protests or was passing by.
The violence occurred despite heightened security across Egypt in anticipation of a call for mass Islamist protests on Friday. Cairo was largely calm after Friday midday prayers, with security forces deployed in major squares and at key buildings.
Police said earlier in the day that 107 alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood had been arrested for intending to carry out acts of violence, MENA reported.
Also, police said that seven bombs were defused in four governorates, including Cairo – a daily occurrence since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
The organisers of Friday’s protests – the ultraconservative Salafist Front – called for the imposition of Islamic rule and preservation of Egypt’s “Islamic identity.”
The Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, has endorsed the call for protests.
Several other Islamist groups, however, including the Salafist Nour Party and former Brotherhood allies the Wasat Party and Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya movement have rejected the demonstrations.