Egypt Explosion Hits Italian Consulate in Cairo

Local Editor

A powerful blast hit the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital on Saturday, partially destroying the facade of the building in central Cairo.

The health ministry said at least one person had died. Four people were also injured, medical sources said.

A car bomb was to blame, according to a security official in the Egyptian capital, with reports that attackers had placed a device underneath a vehicle near the building and remotely detonated it.

However, no group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The embassy was closed and no civilian staff members were among the injured, an embassy official stated.

Egypt's public prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was killed last month by a car bomb attack in the city. In the same month, another car bomb targeting a police station left three people dead.

Egyptian security forces had been battling Takfiri militants, but the fighting had been mostly confined to the Sinai Peninsula.

Militants in Egypt had killed at least 600 police and armed forces personnel in the past two years.

The militants stepped up their attacks after the military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

In recent weeks, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had promised to crack down further on extremist militants.

Hundreds of "Muslim Brotherhood" members, including ousted President Mohammed Morsi, had been sentenced to death by Egypt's courts. Consequently, the majority remain on death row awaiting execution.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team