Egypt's presidency has mourned General-Prosecutor Hisham Barakat who was killed in a bomb attack on his convoy earlier Monday. “Egypt has lost a great judicial figure that has shown dedication to work and commitment to the ethics of the noble judicial profession,” the presidency said in a statement, describing the attack as an act of terrorism. It also announced the cancelation of celebrations commemorating the second anniversary of the 30 June events, in which Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power in June 2013. Egypt's state TV has reported that a military funeral will take place for Barakat Tuesday noon in El-Moshir Tantawy Mosque in upper class Cairo's Fifth Settlement. Nine people, including two drivers and five members of the security forces, were also injured when a bomb hit the prosecutor's convoy near the military academy in Heliopolis. Barakat's death marks the first successful assassination attempt against a state official since an upswing in violence following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. An attack on ex-interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim's convoy failed in 2013. Islamist militants, who have primarily targeted security forces since the removal of Morsi, have also attacked several judges. In May, three judges and their driver were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the North Sinai city of Al-Arish. The 65-year-old prosecutor Barakat was sworn in as Egypt's top prosecutor under the rule of interim president Adly Mansour in July 2013 following the resignation of Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/134079.aspx
