Egypt Refutes Report of Attempt on VP Suleiman's Life

World | February 5, 2011, Saturday // 12:32|  views

No attempt has been made on the life of VP Suleiman, according to the Egyptian government. Photo by veteranstoday.com

Egypt's government has denied on Saturday a report of Fox News of an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the country's Vice President Omar Suleiman.

Earlier Fox News said citing a senior Obama administration official that Suleiman survived an attack on his convoy, which occurred shortly after he was appointed by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, but that two of his bodyguards were killed.

"Such an attempt on the life of Omar Suleiman would mark an alarming turn in the uprising against the government of President Hosni Mubarak," the report said.

Fox News reported that the US confirmed the reports of the failed assassination attempt, however White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs declined to address the reports.

"This news has no grounds, the vice president was not at the place mentioned in the report," an unnamed senior Egyptian official told state-run daily al-Ahram.

Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed the country's longtime intelligence chief Suleiman as vice president and ordered him to hold talks with the country's opposition to overcome the political crisis.

Suleiman is the first vice-president of Egypt to be appointed since Mubarak first took power almost thirty years ago. Mubarak himself occupied the position of vice-president under the former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and took the reigns of power after Sadat was assassinated in 1981.

On Monday Suleiman said that  Mubarak told him to start a dialogue with all the political parties as hundreds of thousands continued to protest. 

Saturday marks the 12th day of rigorous anti-government protests in Egypt.

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Tags: Egypt, assassination attempt, Fox News, Omar Suleiman, civil unrest, street protests

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