An assassination attempt on Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman in recent days left two of his bodyguards dead, Fox News reports referring an unknown source.

Suleiman was recently appointed by Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak as vice president in an effort to quell the protests and possibly line up a successor.

A senior Obama administration official confirmed the information that the attack happened soon after he was appointed, on Jan. 29,” the source says.

Spokesman for White House Robert Gibbs declined to comment on the assassination reports. “I’m not going to ... get into that question,” Gibbs said.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, thousands of Egyptians demanded an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. On February 1, Mubarak said he would not run for presidential elections when his term ends in September and promised critical constitutional reforms. However, the situation got strained after fights broke out between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak. Over 300 people were killed, 5.000 injured in unprecedented countrywide protests in the country.