WarSclerotic

Huge blast hits Italian consulate in Cairo, 1 dead

Published time: July 11, 2015 05:09

Edited time: July 11, 2015 11:35

via Huge blast hits Italian consulate in Cairo, 1 dead — RT News.

Update :

Published time: July 11, 2015 05:09
Edited time: July 11, 2015 16:06

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on Saturday at the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in which at least one person was killed.

http://rt.com/news/273082-egypt-blast-cairo-blast/

A general view shows the destroyed facade of the Italian consulate building following a powerful bomb explosion, killing one person, in the capital, Cairo, on July 11, 2015. (AFP Photo/Mohamed El-Shahed)

 At least person was killed in a powerful explosion outside the Italian consulate in downtown Cairo, according to health ministry spokesman, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.

Earlier reports said two police officers and three passers-by were among those injured in the blast on Saturday morning.

The consulate was closed at the time of the explosion (06:30 local time, 04:30 GMT) and none of its staff were injured, an Italian embassy official told AP.

Italian consulate explosion in #Cairo#Egyptpic.twitter.com/xLD3vMd9Dc

— Walt Curnow (@Walt_Curnow) July 11, 2015

The explosion partially destroyed the facade of the consulate building, photos from the scene showed. It was caused by a car bomb, a security official told Reuters.

A bomb might have been placed under a car and remotely detonated, according to preliminary investigation results, cited by Egypt’s official MENA news agency.

The nearby Supreme Court was shaken by the blast, AFP reported.

حشود في موقع الحادث والشارع غارق بالماء بعد تسبب الانفجار في كسر ماسورة مياه بالمبنى pic.twitter.com/mbIQWagjag

— Omar Elhady (@O_Elhady) July 11, 2015

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast at the Italian consulate.

Egypt has seen a number of bomb attacks over the past months.

The Egyptian military-imposed government is fighting against Islamist groups after a 2013 coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. The violence is mostly localized in the turbulent Sinai Peninsula, but bombings and attacks on security checkpoints occasionally happen in other parts of the country.

الصور الأولية التي توضح قوة الإنفجار الذي استهدف السفاره الإيطالية في العاصمة المصرية القاهرة . #انفحار_القاهره #مصرpic.twitter.com/RCUDFl9ZuA

— أحمد العنزي (@a7mad751) July 11, 2015

At least four journalists have been detained by Egyptian police at the scene of the explosion.

police keeps asking us why we were here and how we could get here so fast. in meantime egyptian journalists are still allowed to walk arnd

— alessandro accorsi (@ali_burrasque) July 11, 2015

صورة اخرى من تدمير السفارة الايطالية منذ قليل بشارع #الجلاء بوسط البلد فى #القاهرة بعملية استهداف ارهابية pic.twitter.com/w3zEOrG0Vp

— بندر الحربي (@6777Stalin) July 11, 2015

This entry was posted on July 11, 2015 at 3:55 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Blast, Conflict, Egypt, Terrorism, Violence