CAIRO - One of Egypt's top presidential contenders demanded police protection Friday after masked men stopped his car on the way back from a campaign event, beat him with the butt of an automatic rifle, and stole his vehicle - an attack that many of his supporters fear may not have been random.
A lawmaker from the country's most powerful political party, the Muslim Brotherhood, also was wounded in a hit-and-run Friday.
The two events demonstrate the disintegration of security in the country since the uprising a year ago that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. As the country prepares for presidential elections expected by the end of June, there is also the specter of politically motivated violence as the campaign heats up.
