Crowd in Egypt attacks a railway guard after 2 children are run over

CAIRO — Angry residents attacked a railway guard and his post in a town outside Cairo on Monday after a train ran over and killed two children, officials said.

A crowd descended on the intersection near the town of Bilaydah in the city of Al-Ayat, where a train earlier killed two children trying to cross using an area not intended for pedestrians, according to the Egyptian National Railways.

They attacked the guard who was securing the level crossing, which authorities said was closed at the time, and set fire to his room, officials said. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the guard.

Local media reported that the two children were on their way to school.

Train accidents are common in Egypt. A train crash earlier this month killed one person and injured more than 20 others in southern Egypt.

In recent years, the government has announced initiatives to improve railways.