Nine wounded in predawn attack in Cairo's Tahrir Square

Nine wounded in predawn attack in Cairo's Tahrir Square

Attackers injured nine protesters with bird shot pellets in an assault in Cairo's Tahrir Square, a Health Ministry official said, hours before mass demonstrations were to begin. FULL STORY

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  Nine wounded in predawn attack in Cairo

  From Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, CNN

  December 11, 2012 -- Updated 1301 GMT (2101 HKT)
  

  Egypt awaits new wave of protests

  STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Four suffered critical wounds and were hospitalized
  • Protester says assailants fired bird shot at demonstrators
  • They also threw Molotov cocktails, he says
  Cairo (CNN) -- Attackers injured nine protesters with bird shot pellets in a predawn assault on Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday, a Health Ministry official said.
  
  Four were hospitalized with critical injuries, Dr. Mohamed Sultan said.
  Protesters from both sides of the political spectrum are scheduled to mass in Egypt's capital in the late afternoon to demonstrate once more for and against embattled President Mohamed Morsy.
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  Dozens of assailants stormed the roundabout from three directions at 1:30 a.m., throwing Molotov cocktails and firing bird shot at protesters, said Mohamed Harbia, an activist who spent the night at the square.
  Two protesters were wounded in the chest and one in the groin, said Harbia, who complained that ambulances took half an hour to arrive.
  Tensions have run high since the president announced a controversial decree in late November expanding his decision-making powers beyond judicial review. Morsy has since partially dropped the decree, but opponents remain on edge ahead of a Saturday referendum on a controversial draft constitution.
  Islamists formulated and voted to approve the national charter before handing it off to the general public to vote on, as representatives of other political and religious backgrounds quit the process in protest.
  CNN's Ben Brumfield contributed to this report.COPY  http://edition.cnn.com/