Hero Cops Die in Double Bomb

Two police officers were killed and three civilians were wounded in a bomb blast near Ittihadeya Palace in Heliopolis.

State TV reports claim that one other police officer was wounded in the explosion, which took place on Al-Ahram Street shortly after 9 am. 

Unconfirmed reports claim that one of the men was attempting to defuse a device when the blast happened.

One of the men was named as Colonial Ahmad el-Ashmawy, of the civil protection department.

The explosion followed earlier news that bombs were planted by militants in the same area.

A video of one of the explosions has been released by local news site Youm7, depicting the policeman trying to defuse the bomb before it explodes. (Viewer discretion is advised due to the video's violent content.)

Security officials are now combing the scene for other devices.

Security officials previously announced plans to step-up security in anticipation of demonstrations to mark last year's June 30th protests, which lead to the ouster of former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

UPDATE: Islamist group Agnad Masr has claimed responsibility for the attack.