CAIRO — Insecurity reigned over Cairo and some other Egyptian provinces after the violence that spread throughout the country on Oct. 6. The Egyptian security agencies tried to maintain control over the situation and secure vital installations following a number of terrorist attacks that targeted army and police forces. But the anger of the current regime’s opponents continued, and they insisted on holding marches and demonstrations that condemned the military’s rule and affirmed their intention to enter Tahrir Square and organize a sit-in there.

By the end of Oct. 6, the Egyptian Ministry of Health announced that 53 people had been killed and 271 critically injured following bloody clashes in Cairo and some other provinces between supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi, his opponents and security forces. Meanwhile, the state’s institutions remained silent on the events.

On the morning of Monday, Oct. 7, a series of terrorist acts were executed in response to the targeting of demonstrators by security forces. Unknown gunmen attacked an Egyptian army patrol in the city of El-Salhiya in al-Sharqiya province, killing one officer and five recruits after heavy gunfire hit a vehicle belonging to the Second Field Army. Unknown gunmen also attacked the South Sinai Security Directorate in the city of El-Tor with a car bomb that exploded inside the building, killing a police lieutenant colonel and three recruits, as well as wounding 58 others.

Terrorist operations did not end there. In the capital, gunmen targeted a military police force in the Al-Rimaya area of Giza province. This led to a gun battle that lasted for over 90 minutes. Another terrorist group called the al-Furqan Brigades fired two RPG rockets at the central satellite station in the south Cairo neighborhood of El Maadi, which damaged one of the transmission dishes, but did not lead to human losses.