Car bomb wounds Egypt's public prosecutor in Cairo

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor was injured when a car bomb struck his convoy as it was leaving his home in Cairo on Monday, in a high-profile attack against the judiciary, security and judicial sources said.

The sources initially said a car bomber had rammed into the convoy but later said it seemed the car bomb had been remotely detonated in an attack which also wounded two civilians and two policemen.

Judges and other officials have increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants opposed to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and apparently angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Assistant public prosecutor Zakariya Abdel Aziz said the attack was an assassination attempt on Hisham Barakat, after a car bomb exploded just as he left his home in the neighbourhood of Heliopolis for his office. The extent of his injuries was not reported.

A little-known group calling itself the "Giza Popular Resistance" claimed responsibility on its Facebook page for the

attack. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the claim.

"The situation is not reassuring," said judge Ali Yousef, who spoke to Reuters from al-Nozha hospital, where Barakat was being treated. "Doctors tell us his condition is not stable."

Health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said Barakat had undergone surgery after he had dislocated his shoulder and suffered from a deep cut, with the suspicion of a fractured nose.

Abdel Ghaffar said Barakat was in stable condition and was currently in the recovery room.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion was strong enough to shatter glass in nearby storefronts and homes. A large plume of black smoke and several smouldering cars were seen near apartment buildings.

Barakat's place of work was also targeted earlier this year when a bomb exploded near the High Court in central Cairo, killing two people.

Egypt is facing a Sinai-based insurgency that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi after mass protests against his rule in 2013.

The most active group is Sinai Province, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, the group that has taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.

A video titled "Eliminating the Judges" was published by the group's media arm on Sunday, which showed gunmen opening fire on a vehicle they said was carrying judges.

Three judges were shot dead in the northern Sinai city of al-Arish in May.

As the country's top prosecutor, Barakat is responsible for overseeing the investigation of incidents, charging people, and referring cases to the appropriate courts.

The judiciary says it is independent of the government and military. But some of Egypt's judges have drawn accusations of blatant bias by handing down lengthy jail terms and mass death sentences against Islamists.

A Cairo court sentenced Mursi to death in June over a case related to a 2011 mass jail break.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy, Ahmed Aboulenein, Lilian Wagdy; Writing by Yara Bayoumy and Stephen Kalin; Editing by Catherine Evans)