A car bomb exploded outside the Italian Consulate in downtown Cairo early Saturday morning, killing at least one person and significantly damaging part of the building, authorities said.
Ahlul Bayt News Agency - A car bomb exploded outside the Italian Consulate in downtown Cairo early Saturday morning, killing at least one person and significantly damaging part of the building, authorities said.
Seven others were injured in the blast, the health ministry said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Egypt has seen escalating attacks by Islamist militants. The Saturday incident was the first attack targeting a consulate or an embassy in recent years.
None of the victims were consulate staffers, Italy's Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a tweet.
"Italy is not intimidated," he added.
Bomba al nostro Consolato al #Cairo. Non risultano vittime italiane. Vicini alle persone colpite e al personale. Italia non si fa intimidire
— Paolo Gentiloni (@PaoloGentiloni) July 11, 2015
The consulate is located in the heart of the city on a busy intersection. The Italian Embassy is in a different neighborhood.
The timing of the blast -- early in the morning on a weekend -- helped minimize casualties. On week days, the area is teeming with pedestrians and vehicle traffic.
"There's significant damage to the side of the building, a wall has collapsed and there was blood on the debris," photographer David Degner told CNN from the scene.
The explosion damaged the side of the consulate facing a vacant lot.
Degner said he saw at least one burned and twisted wheel.
Photos from explosion at the Italian center. pic.twitter.com/ZNSfiMMwZd
— David Degner (@degner) July 11, 2015
Police pushed back a crowd of several hundred people who converged on the blast site, Degner said.
source : abna
