Egyptian army denies attack on Suez Canal Authority

Egypt's army has denied reports about an attack on the headquarters of the Suez Canal Authority. "The Armed Forces confirm that there was no terrorist or armed attack against the SCA building," army spokesman Ahmed Mohamed Ali said on his Facebook page. Media reports said that the SCA premises in Port Fouad had come under attack on Friday. The army spokesman elaborated that a number of youths had fired fireworks from a nearby building. "The Armed Forces reiterate that the security situation is stable in Suez and there is nothing that disturbs public peace," he said. Meanwhile, security forces arrested five media men from the English Al-Jazeera television in Suez for unlicensed photographing. A security source said the five crew members had no security clearance and obtained unlicensed devices. Egyptian authorities have taken several TV channels off air and arrested a number of media personnel in the wake of the army's removal of elected president Mohammad Morsi on July 3. The director of Al-Jazeera office in Cairo was released on bail last week on charges of operating an unlicensed channel and broadcasting false news to disturb public security. Egypt has been thrown into political turmoil after Morsi's removal from office under an army roadmap for Egypt's future. Thousands of Morsi supporters have taken to the streets to demand the return of the Islamist president to power.