Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni vowed that his nation would not be intimidated after a deadly explosion yesterday morning killed one person and heavily damaged the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital.
“Our thoughts are with the people affected and with our personnel. Italy will not let itself be intimidated,” Gentiloni said on Twitter.
The suspected bomb blast went off yesterday morning after 6am.
Photo: EPA
Egyptian Ministry of Health spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar told reporters that at least one person was killed in the blast and four injured. Abdel-Ghaffar said the victim had not been identified, but that his limbs were severed, suggesting that the victim was close to the explosion.
An Italian diplomat said the consulate was closed at the time and no staff members were wounded in the blast.
A security official said the exact cause of the explosion was still unclear and that there had been no claim of responsibility.
Photo: AFP
The blast comes as Egypt is facing a rising wave of violence in recent weeks between government forces and Muslim extremists.
Less than two weeks ago, the nation’s chief prosecutor was killed in an explosion near his home in Cairo as he was heading to work. Days later, militants waged a coordinated and protracted attack on military installations in the Sinai Province, leaving at least 17 soldiers dead.
Another security official said investigators are probing the possibility of a car bomb; remains of a vehicle were found nearby. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak with reporters.
The state-owned Middle East News Agency quoted a security official as saying that investigators are looking into whether an explosive device was placed under a car parked near the building. The blast ruptured underground water pipes, flooding the area.
It heavily damaged the distinctive early 20th-century building that once housed a school and became the Italian consulate after World War II.
Charred car parts were scattered onto the street.
Several floors of the consulate were destroyed on one side, leaving a gaping hole with bricks spilling from it and its facade peeling.
“I was sleeping when the explosion went off; it blew in my window and when I went outside the air was full of dust,” said Ahmed Hasan, 20, a resident whose leg had minor cuts.
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