Car bomb explodes in Sinai, kills three militants

   
A car bomb exploded near a police training center in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, state television reported on Wednesday, saying that three terrorists had died in the blast.         

Nile television said the explosion took place in the city of El-Arish, in the northern Sinai, where violence by Islamist militants has escalated since President Mohamed Mursi was deposed on July 3. It gave no further details.          

This comes as Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for nationwide rallies on Friday to give the military a mandate to confront what he termed violence and terrorism following the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.                          

Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh:                        

Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh said the Egyptian army's call for rallies on Friday risks triggering violence; urging the military to row back for the sake of peace.                                 
Muslim Brotherhood:                    

In turn, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood said that the call by Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for mass protests amounts to a threat against the Muslim Brotherhood.                                         

Tamarud:                                                    

The influential Egyptian youth movement Tamarud said it backed the army's call for mass rallies to give the military a mandate to confront street violence following its ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi this month.                             

The Tamarud movement was behind enormous protests against Morsi before the army deposed him on July 3, unleashing street clashes in which around 100 people have died, most of them supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.                    

Bombing at security headquarters:                

Egypt's Health Ministry said one person has died from the overnight bombing at the security headquarters in the country's north. The ministry said the early Wednesday blast also wounded 28 people. Earlier reports said 19 were wounded and that no one was killed. The bombing in the northern city of Mansoura suggested a campaign of violence against Egyptian police is spreading.                                  

Suspected Islamic militants have stepped up attacks against security forces in the Sinai Peninsula since the military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on July 3. Authorities condemned the Mansoura bombing, calling it an act of terrorism. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters have been involved in violent clashes with his opponents and security forces, also condemned the explosion.                            

In a separate incident, a bomb exploded at a police station in a province north of Cairo early on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding 17 others, Health Ministry and security sources told Reuters.            

Unknown assailants threw the bomb from a passing car in Mansoura, the capital of Dakhalia province, two security sources said.                               

Nine people were killed in Cairo on Tuesday in clashes between opponents and Islamist supporters of Morsi who was toppled by the army earlier this month.                         

Morsi’s supporters:                    

Supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi camped out in a Cairo suburb in protest at his removal.   

At least one of his supporters was killed in Cairo during a protest march, a security source and the Muslim Brotherhood said.                                   

The Muslim Brotherhood said on its website that police in civilian clothes had opened fire using live ammunition early on Wednesday on marching Morsi supporters, killing two and injuring others.                  

A security source confirmed one Morsi supporter was killed.                        

The Muslim Brotherhood has accused the Ministry of Interior of using thugs in plain clothes to attack protesters, but security officials have denied this accusation.                              

President Obama:                   

The Pentagon said Wednesday that President Barack Obama has decided to halt the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt for an undetermined period due to the "current situation" on the ground there.