Cairo Bombs Kill 2 Police Officers Near Egypt's Presidential Palace

Two Egyptian police officers were killed Monday after two bombs went off near the presidential palace in Cairo.

The first bomb injured three street cleaners, according to Associated Press. The second bomb killed the two officers and wounded three other people as security officers tried to defuse the device, according to AP and Reuters.

The blasts occurred days after the militant group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) said it placed bombs that targeted Egyptian security forces in the vicinity of Monday's explosions. But the operation was called off because the group said the bombs would have caused civilian casualties.

However, Ajnad Misr was unable to move the bombs and, instead, the group released a statement urging people to exercise caution in the area where the explosives were placed.

The bombs went off one year after protests eventually led to the military ouster of President Mohammed Morsi. The head of the military back then, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, was elected president last month.

It was unclear whether al-Sisi was inside the presidential palace at the time of the explosions, according to AP.