Fox News is reporting that an assassination attempt has been made on newly named Egyptian vice president Omar Suleiman. Two of the longtime intelligence chief’s bodyguards, Fox says, were killed in the attack. Egyptian security officials, reports Al Arabiya, are denying the reports.

If Fox’s report is accurate, then Cairo’s denials are cause for serious concern. After all, had the Mubarak regime staged the operation as a pretext for a crackdown on opposition protesters, then it would be eager to get the news out to as many sources as possible. That they are hushing up the incident may suggest that the plot originated in the government’s security and military apparatus.