CAIRO: A crude bomb exploded on Saturday near a newly built hospital just minutes before it was inaugurated by Egypt’s health minister, security officials said, adding that there were no casualties.

The device went off in the city of Kaft, 630 km south of Cairo, before Adel Al-Adawi arrived for the opening, the officials and state television reported. The ceremony went ahead as planned.

A wave of bombings and shootings has targeted Egypt’s security forces since the army ousted President Muhammad Mursi last July.

Interior Minister Muhammad Ibrahim escaped unhurt when a car bombing targeted his convoy last September in Cairo. The military-installed authorities say militants have killed about 500 people since the overthrow of Mursi.

Most militant attacks have been in the restive Sinai Peninsula, but in recent months brazen attacks have also been launched farther afield in the Nile Delta and in the capital.