Cairo, Egypt (AP) - Police shot and killed two protesters in Suez, Egypt, early Friday, a health official said, the first to die in clashes that erupted around the country after a riot at a soccer stadium killed 74, as sports violence spiraled into a new political crisis for Egypt.

Protesters blame police for failing to control the riot after the soccer game in Port Said. In Cairo, thousands demonstrated Thursday in front of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police. Demonstrators threw rocks, and police responded with clouds of tear gas. Hundreds were treated by medics.

In Suez, witnesses said about 3,000 people demonstrated in front of police headquarters after news spread that one of the victims in the Port Said riot was from their city.

Police responded with tear gas and then opened fire, witnesses said. Health official Mohammed Lasheen said two men were killed by bullets. Fifteen other protesters were wounded, he said.

The deaths of 74 people Wednesday night in a post-match stadium riot in the Mediterranean city of Port Said fueled anger at Egypt's ruling military and the already widely distrusted police forces. Many in the public and in the newly elected parliament blamed the leadership for letting it happen - whether from a lack of control or, as some alleged, on purpose.

Survivors of the riot described a nightmarish scene in the stadium. Police stood by doing nothing, they said, as fans of the winning home team, Al-Masry, attacked supporters of the top Cairo club, Al-Ahly, stabbing them and throwing them off bleachers.

A narrow exit corridor turned into a death trap as crowds of fans fled into it, only to be crushed against a locked gate as their rivals attacked them from behind.

A network of zealous Al-Ahly soccer fans known as Ultras vowed vengeance, accusing the police of intentionally letting rivals attack them because they have been among the most aggressive of Egypt's revolutionaries. Ultras were at the forefront of the anti-government uprising - first against toppled leader Hosni Mubarak a year ago and now against the military that took his place in power.

"Either they will die or we will die," one Ultra said, referring to the police, as he joined a march by some 10,000 people on the Cairo headquarters of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the security forces. He would only give his first name, Islam, for fear of reprisal by police.

The march turned into a call for the ruling military council of generals, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, to surrender power.

"Say it out loud, the council must leave!" the marchers chanted, shouting to people in residential buildings along the way. "Get down from your balconies, Tantawi killed your children!"

The military has faced protests for months led by secular and liberal youth groups demanding an end to its rule - and the soccer riot added to criticism that the generals have mismanaged the transition from Mubarak's rule. Opponents accuse the generals of being as autocratic as the ousted president and of preserving much of his regime. They say elements in the police and former regime figures have been working behind the scenes to undermine the revolution and prevent real change.

"We dreamed of change. They fooled us and brought us a field marshal instead," protesters chanted Thursday as they reached the Interior Ministry, near Tahrir Square. Some called for the execution of the military rulers. Many raised flags of the Al-Ahly club and Zamalek, another top Cairo team with its own group of Ultras.

The crowds approached the ministry from multiple sides. Some tried to dismantle walls of large concrete blocks that had been erected on streets leading to the ministry after November clashes. Others tore away barbed wire barriers.

Protesters hurled stones at lines of riot police, who responded with heavy barrages of tear gas that sent the crowd scattering, some passing out and falling. Protesters set tires on fire, sending up black smoke as motorcyclists ferried away the injured. One young man who climbed atop a traffic light waving a flag was unmoved even as he was engulfed in a cloud of gas.

"We are just across the street from the ministry," said one protester, Taha Mahfouz, wearing a helmet and waving a club that he had taken from riot police. "They can't protect their own stuff. How can they protect the country?"

The Health Ministry said 388 protesters were injured, most overcome by gas.

In an emergency session of parliament, several lawmakers said the police failure to stop the rioting was intentional, aimed at stoking insecurity since Mubarak's ouster on Feb. 11, 2011. The aim, they said, was to create instability to justify maintaining strict emergency laws.

"This is a complete crime," said Abbas Mekhimar, head of parliament's defense committee. "This is part of the scenario of fueling chaos against Egypt."

Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri told parliament he had dissolved the Egyptian Soccer Federation's board and referred its members for questioning by prosecutors about the violence. He also said the governor of Port Said province and the area's police chief have resigned.

Tantawi told reporters Wednesday that the country's transition will not be derailed by the violence.

"Egypt is going down the path we planned," he said. "We will continue down this path and we will get through this transition."

Security officials said 47 people were arrested in Port Said. Ismail el-Iskandarani, a researcher with the private group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights who was in Port Said, said 17 of the dead remain unidentified and at least three of those killed were residents of Port Said, and not Al-Ahly sports fans.

The soccer violence - the world's deadliest in 15 years - began when Al-Masry pulled out a surprise 3-1 victory over Al-Ahly, Egypt's most powerful club. Al-Masry fans stormed the field, rushing past lines of police to attack Al-Ahly's Ultras.

"I saw death with my own eyes. I saw people take their last breath," said Samir Saad, a 27-year old Al-Ahly fan who was stabbed in the leg as he fled into the stands. "The security opened the doors for Al-Masry fans and closed (them) in our face."

Others reported Al-Ahly fans being thrown from the stands or jumping to escape. Some said Al-Masry supporters carved the words "Port Said" into the bodies of stricken fans.

Authorities shut off the stadium lights, plunging it into darkness. In the exit corridor, the fleeing crowd pressed against a chained gate until it broke open.

"Everyone was pushing. Under me were more than three people and I am being pushed. Everyone is pushing trying to breathe," said Mahmoud Ibrahim, who was trapped in the corridor. He spoke at Cairo's main morgue where many of the dead were taken, including two of his friends.

There was bad blood between the two teams even before the match, and many were itching for a fight. Early in the game, Ultras raised a banner reading, "Port Said is a garbage city and has no men," before it was quickly taken down.

Ultras accused police of failing to do the usual searches for weapons, and witnesses reported fans in the Al-Masry stands had clubs and knives. El-Iskandarani, the rights worker investigating the violence, said witnesses reported that some of those carrying knives were known locally as thugs-for-hire.

Pedro Barny, a Portuguese assistant to Al-Ahly coach Manuel Jose, complained of a lack of security as the tensions mounted during the game.

"The atmosphere was very aggressive. It was very intimidating for our team," Barny told Radiotelevisao Portuguesa. "There were opposition fans walking up and down unchallenged in front of our bench during the game and the police did nothing."

He said there was a charge across pitch toward the Al-Ahly fans that collided with the players and coaches. "I ran and ran to get away from it."

He said he was punched and kicked as he sprinted for the tunnel.

The Ultras are among Egypt's rowdiest fans and are proud of their hatred for the police, who were the backbone of Mubarak's authoritarian rule. During matches, they are known for their obscenity-laced anti-police songs and chants, which usually go viral on the Internet, an expression of the hatred many Egyptians feel toward the security forces.

The network is highly organized across the country, but they were long apolitical, resenting the police for friction at soccer matches. When the uprising began, the Ultras used their years of experience in clashing with police at stadiums to help defend protesters against attacks by security forces and regime supporters.

After Mubarak's fall, they joined protests against the military, and in November and December, they fought back against troops cracking down on demonstrations in clashes that left dozens dead. Ironically, the revolution has united the Ultra backers of the Al-Ahly and Zamalek clubs, the country's most bitter soccer rivalry.

Ahmad Saqqar, a 22-year-old Ultra wearing a red Al-Ahly shirt, said the Ultras are "all about resisting police suppression."

"The military plotted yesterday to take revenge on us," he said. "We know how to respond ... after we recover from our wounds."

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Associated Press Writer Aya Batrawy contributed to this report.

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Egypt Soccer Fans Rush Field After Game, 74 Dead

Cairo, Egypt (AP) - At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured after soccer fans rushed the field in the seaside city of Port Said Wednesday following an upset victory by the home team over Egypt's top club, setting off clashes and a stampede as riot police largely failed to intervene.

It was a bloody reminder of the deteriorating security in the Arab world's most populous country as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

The melee - which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt's most popular teams - was the worst case of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

In Cairo, fans angered that another match between Al-Ismaili and Zamalek was halted because of the Port Said violence set fire to the bleachers at the main stadium in the Egyptian capital, authorities said. No injuries were reported, and employees said firefighters extinguished the blaze before it caused much damage.

The clashes and ensuing stampede did not appear to be directly linked to the political turmoil in Egypt, but the violence raised fresh concerns about the ability of the state police to manage crowds. Most of the hundreds of black-uniformed police with helmets and shields stood in lines and did nothing as soccer fans chased each other, some wielding sharp objects and others hurling sticks and rocks.

Security officials said the ministry has issued directives for its personnel not to "engage" with civilians after recent clashes between police and protesters in November left more than 40 people dead.

The violence also underscored the role of soccer fans in Egypt's recent protest movement. Organized fans, in groups known as ultras, have played an important role in the revolution and rallies against military rule. Their anti-police songs, peppered with curses, have quickly become viral and an expression of the hatred many Egyptians feel toward security forces that were accused of much of the abuse that was widespread under Mubarak's regime.

There have been other recent violent incidents at soccer games. In April, the ineffectiveness of the police force also was on display when thousands of fans ran onto the field before the end of an African Champions League game between local club Zamalek and Tunisia's Club Africain. The hundreds of police on duty at Cairo International Stadium could not stop the violence then, either.

Activists scheduled rallies Thursday outside the headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Cairo to protest the inability of the police to stop the bloodshed.

Many gathered outside Al-Ahly club in Cairo, chanting slogans against military rule, and hundreds filed into Cairo's main train station to receive the injured arriving from Port Said. "We die like them, or we ensure their rights," the crowd chanted, along with slogans denouncing the military rulers.

As the train arrived, scores jumped on top of the train and raised Egyptian flags.

"They came at us with machetes and knives...they threw some of us from the fourth floor," one returning fan told the private TV station ONTV.

"Everyone was beating us. They were beating us from inside and outside, with fireworks, stones, metal bars, and some had knives, I swear," another fan told the station, which did not give their names.

In Port Said, residents marched early Thursday, denouncing the violence and saying it was a conspiracy by the military and police to cause chaos.

Army tanks and armored vehicles joined police patrolling near hospitals and morgues. Police were not to be seen in the streets after the violence and were unavailable to break up fights that followed.

The tension also spread to the nearby Suez province. About 500 protesters, including soccer fans and activists, gathered outside the main police headquarters to protest what they called police negligence.

A security official said the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters.

The scuffles erupted when fans of Al-Masry stormed the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly. Al-Masry supporters hurled sticks and stones as they chased players and fans from the rival team, who ran toward the exits and up the stands to escape, according to witnesses. One man told state TV he heard gunshots in the stadium, while a lawmaker from Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood said the police didn't prevent fans carrying knives from entering the stadium.

TV footage showed Al-Ahly players rushing for their locker room as fistfights broke out among the hundreds of fans swarming on to the field. Some men had to rescue a manager from the losing team as he was being beaten. Black-clothed police officers stood by, appearing overwhelmed.

The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. A local health official initially said 1,000 people were injured and it was not clear how severely. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.

State TV appealed to Egyptians to donate blood for the injured in Port Said, and the military sent two aircraft to evacuate serious cases to the capital, Cairo.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military leadership that assumed power after Mubarak's ouster, welcomed Al-Ahly team players who were flown back to Cairo from Port Said on a military aircraft.

"This will not bring Egypt down," he told reporters at a military air base east of Cairo. "These incidents happen anywhere in the world. We will not let those behind it go ...This will not affect Egypt and its security."

The military declared three days of mourning starting Thursday.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told state TV that 13,000 Al-Masry fans stormed the field, jumping a low fence and attacking about 1,200 Al-Ahly fans. He transferred the Port Said local security chief to a desk job as a punitive measure.

Al-Ahly goalkeeper Sharif Ikrami, who was injured in the melee, told the private station ONTV that dead and wounded were being carried into the locker room.

"There were people dying in front of us," he said. "It's over. We've all made a decision that we won't play soccer any more. How will we play soccer after 70 people died? We can't think about it."

Hesham Sheiha, a health ministry official, said most of the deaths were caused by concussions, deep head wounds and suffocation from the stampede. He said 40 people were seriously injured.

In an interview with the team's station, Mohammed Abu Trika, a player with Al-Ahly, criticized police for standing by and not intervening in the violence.

"People here are dying and no one is doing a thing. It's like a war," he told the team TV station. "Is life this cheap?"

Egypt's state prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, and the Egypt Football Association ordered an indefinite suspension of the league games. The parliament said it would convene an emergency session.

The two sides also traded conspiracy theories, with each side blaming the other for trying to destabilize the country.

Essam el-Erian, a Brotherhood lawmaker, said the military and police were complicit in the violence, accusing them of trying to show that emergency regulations giving security forces wide-ranging powers must be maintained.

"This tragedy is a result of intentional reluctance by the military and the police," he said.

The manager of the Al-Masry, Kamal Abu Ali, announced he also was resigning in protest.

"This is not about soccer. This is bigger than that. This is a plot to topple the state," he told the same station, using an often-cited allegation by the military against protesters.

Bob Bradley, the former U.S. national team coach who was hired in September as coach of Egypt's national team, was not at the stadium, U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman Michael Kammarman said.

It was the deadliest incident of soccer violence since Oct. 16, 1996, when at least 78 people died and 180 others were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Guatemala City before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

The Port Said game was a face-off between two teams with a long history of fierce competition, Al-Masry, the home team, and Al-Ahly, a record 36-time winner of the Egyptian league and a six-time winner of the African Champions League.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths.

"This is a black day for football. Such a catastrophic situation is unimaginable and should not happen," he said in a statement.

The Confederation of African Football, which organizes the African Cup, said a minute's silence would be held before all quarterfinals this weekend as a mark of respect for the dead.

CAF President Issa Hayatou said, "African football is in a state of mourning."

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Associated Press writers Ben Hubbard and Maggie Michael in Cairo and Gerald Imray in Franceville, Gabon contributed to this report.

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Major Soccer Stadium Disasters

A list of fatal disasters at soccer stadiums around the world.

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April 5, 1902 - Glasgow, Scotland; 25 killed and 517 injured when the West Stand at Ibrox Park collapses during an international between England and Scotland. The game ends in a 1-1 draw but is later stricken from official records.

March 9, 1946 - Bolton, England; 33 people are killed and over 400 injured when a wall collapses at Burden Park before an English FA Cup match between Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City. The collapse crushes fans together and sparks a stampede.

March 30, 1955 - Santiago, Chile; Six died when 70,000 tried to jam into the stadium for the finals of the South American soccer tournament. Argentina beat Chile 1-0.

May 24, 1964 - Lima, Peru; 318 people are killed and another 500 injured in riots at National Stadium after Argentina beats Peru in an Olympic qualifying match. The pandemonium breaks out when the referee disallows a Peruvian goal in the final two minutes.

June 23, 1968 - Buenos Aires, Argentina; 74 people are killed and over 150 injured following a first-division game between River Plate and Boca Juniors when fans trying to leave the stadium mistakenly head toward a closed exit and are crushed against the doors by other fans unaware of the closed passageway.

Jan. 2, 1971 - Glasgow, Scotland; 66 people are killed and 140 are injured when barriers in Ibrox Stadium collapse near the end of a match between Celtic and Rangers and fans are crushed. The incident occurs when fans leaving the stadium are met by a group trying to return after hearing that Rangers had scored an equalizer.

March 4, 1971 - Salvador, Brazil; A fight and a wild rush broke out in the grandstands, killing four and injuring 1,500.

Feb. 17, 1974 - Cairo, Egypt; Crowds attempting to enter a club game broke down barriers and 49 people were trampled to death.

Oct. 31, 1976 - Yaounde, Cameroon; After a penalty kick was awarded to Cameroon in a World Cup qualifying match vs. the Congo, the Congolese goalie attacked the Gambian referee. A fight broke out and the president of Cameroon, watching the game at home on television, sent in paratroopers by helicopter. Two bystanders died.

Dec. 6, 1976 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti; At a World Cup qualifier between Haiti and Cuba, the visitors scored and a Haitian fan set off a firecracker. Fans thought it was gunfire and panicked, knocking down a soldier, whose gun went off and killed a small boy and girl in the crowd. Further panic caused two people to be trampled to death, and one man died jumping over a wall. The soldier committed suicide.

Oct. 20, 1982 - Moscow; 340 are reportedly killed at a European Cup match between Soviet club Spartak Moscow and Haarlem of the Netherlands. Police are blamed for pushing fans down a narrow, icy staircase before the end of the match. When a late goal is scored, exiting fans try to re-enter the stadium and create a "human mincer." Moscow officials dispute the claims made in the publication of the Soviet Sports Committee, saying only 61 died and police did not push fans.

May 11, 1985 - Bradford, England; 56 people die when a cigarette stub ignites a stadium's wooden terrace section and fire engulfs the structure.

May 29, 1985 - Brussels, Belgium; 39 people are killed at the European Champions Cup Final at Heysel Stadium when riots break out and a wall separating rival fans of England's Liverpool and Italy's Juventus of Turin collapses.

March 10, 1987 - Tripoli, Libya; 20 people are killed when panic-stricken fans flee knife-wielding ruffians and trigger the collapse of a wall. (This report conflicted with those from the Libyan state news agency JANA, which said two people were killed and 16 were hospitalized.)

March 12, 1988 - Katmandu, Nepal; At least 93 people are killed and more than 100 injured when fans fleeing a hailstorm stampede into locked stadium exits.

April 15, 1989 - Sheffield, England; 96 people are crushed to death at an English FA Cup semifinal game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, when police open gates to alleviate crowding outside Hillsborough Stadium. The resulting rush of people onto the already filled terrace sections traps fans against riot control fences ringing the field.

Jan. 13, 1991 - Orkney, South Africa; at least 40 people are killed, most of them trampled or crushed along riot-control fences that surround the field, when fans panic and try to escape brawls that break out in the grandstand.

May 5, 1992 - Bastia, Corsica; 17 people are killed and 1,900 injured when a temporary grandstand, erected to increase the capacity of the stadium from 8,500 to 18,000, collapses before a French Cup semifinal match between four-time defending league champion Olympique Marseille and second-division Bastia.

June 16, 1996 - Lusaka, Zambia; Nine soccer fans were crushed to death and 78 others injured during a stampede following Zambia's victory over Sudan in a World Cup qualifying game.

July 14, 1996 - Tripoli, Libya; A riot at a soccer match involving a team controlled by a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi killed or injured up to 50 people. No exact figures were reported in the Libyan-controlled press.

Oct. 16, 1996 - Guatemala City; At least 78 people died and about 180 others were injured during a stampede at a stadium before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

April 6, 1997 - Lagos, Nigeria; five fans were crushed to death and more than a dozen were hospitalized when, following Nigeria's 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Egypt, the crowd of 40,000 head for exits and three of the five main gates were locked.

April 23, 2000 - Monrovia, Liberia; At least three reported dead and others injured as thousands of fans forced their way into an overcrowded stadium for a World Cup qualifier between Liberia and Chad.

July 9, 2000 - Harare, Zimbabwe; Thirteen people died after a stampede at World Cup qualifier between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

April 11, 2001 - Johannesburg, South Africa; 47 people were killed during a league match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in an overcrowded soccer stadium. People outside tried to push into Ellis Park stadium and were trapped against barbed wire. Police had earlier fired tear gas at people stampeding outside the stadium.

Feb. 1, 2012 - Port Said, Egypt; Egyptian state TV says at least 73 were killed as fans of rival soccer teams Al-Masry and Al-Ahly rushed the field following Al-Masry's 3-1 upset victory. Fans hurled stones and sticks at each other, sparking a stampede.