Egypt Death Toll Hits 638

Families seek loved ones as Muslim Brotherhood tries to regroup
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 15, 2013 5:25 PM CDT
Egypt Death Toll Hits 638
A man holds the body of a supporter of ousted President Mohammed Morsi at the El-Iman mosque in Cairo's Nasr City, Egypt, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013.   (Ahmed Gomaa)

Weeping relatives in search of loved ones uncovered the faces of the bloodied, unclaimed dead in a Cairo mosque near the smoldering epicenter of support for ousted President Mohammed Morsi, as the death toll soared past 600 today from Egypt's deadliest day since the Arab Spring began. World condemnation widened for the bloody crackdown on Morsi's mostly Islamist supporters, including an angry response from President Barack Obama, who canceled joint US-Egyptian military maneuvers.

Violence spread today, with government buildings set afire near the Pyramids, policemen gunned down, and scores of Christian churches attacked. At least 638 people were confirmed killed and nearly 4,000 wounded. As turmoil engulfed the country, the Interior Ministry authorized the use of deadly force against protesters targeting police and state institutions. The Muslim Brotherhood, trying to regroup after the assault on their encampments and the arrest of many of their leaders, called for a mass rally tomorrow in a challenge to the government's declaration of a month-long nationwide state of emergency and a dusk-to-dawn curfew. (More Egypt stories.)

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