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Guards at Cairo airport apparently discovered the suspected bombs during security checks on two packages which were due to be stowed away on board a flight to America via London.

But after a probe they discovered the packages contained no explosives, an Egyptian Interior Ministry source said.

It was thought that the parcels, which weighed about 10kg, were flagged up after unusual objects were detected by an X-ray scanner.

Egyptian news agency Aswat Masriya reported that the parcels, which contained printer ink cartridges, "appeared to be contaminated" and were set to be loaded on a DHL cargo flight.