Cairo - Akram Ali
Egypt’s presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh was reportedly injured in an apparent carjacking late Thursday in Cairo, his campaign manager and police said, underscoring an increase in crime a year after a country-wide uprising. Three masked gunmen hit Aboul Fotouh on the head with rifles while he was heading back to Cairo late Thursday evening after a conference in Shebeen Al-Koum, a town about 80km north-west of Cairo. He was then transferred to hospital along with his driver, who was also injured. It was not clear whether the attack was meant to be political or was simply a robbery. Aboul Fotouh, a former senior member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement, is considered one of the more popular candidates in the Egyptian presidential election, which is set to take place by the end of June. Police have reported a spike in crime after an uprising overthrew president Hosni Mubarak one year ago, and which also targeted police stations across the country. Drivers in particular complain of an increase in carjackings on Cairo\'s ring road.