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At least two killed in Cairo violence: ministry

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"Two people died of gunshot wounds and 138 were wounded," said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

Earlier ministry official Hisham Shiha told state television that one person was killed, adding that 105 people had been hospitalised and another 68 treated at the scene of the violence.

There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy in figures.

The clashes, which raged since dawn, were the bloodiest since protests in November killed more than 40 people just ahead of Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak in February.

Violence erupted on Friday after a bloodied protester said he had been arrested by soldiers and beaten up, infuriating his comrades who began throwing stones at the soldiers, witnesses said.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011