CAIRO — An explosion heavily damaged the Italian Consulate in Cairo and killed one person early Saturday, and the jihadi group Islamic State claimed responsibility.
The attack on a foreign mission was a departure from a pattern of strikes by Islamic militants against Egyptian military and security installations. It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was meant to harm diplomatic personnel or merely embarrass Egypt’s security establishment.
The explosion was triggered soon after dawn on a weekend day. The consulate was closed, and relatively few people were on nearby streets. The consulate was considerably less fortified than most foreign consulates and embassies.
In an online statement, which could not be independently verified, Islamic State claimed that it had booby-trapped a parked vehicle with more than 200 pounds of explosives. It urged Muslims to “stay away from these security dens, because they are legitimate targets,” according to a transcript released by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity.
In a statement issued earlier, Italy’s foreign minister said his country would not be intimidated.
The force of the blast peeled away part of the building’s facade and flung scorched car parts and debris over a wide area. At least four people were reported injured in addition to the single death reported by a Health Ministry official, according to the the Associated Press.
The explosion raised pointed questions about militants’ ability to smuggle high explosives into the heavily policed center of the capital, despite additional vigilance ordered by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
El-Sissi came to power just over two years ago when he deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in a popularly supported coup, and Islamic militants carried out a concerted series of attacks clustered around the second anniversary of the military takeover. El-Sissi was defense minister when he led the July 2013 coup; he was subsequently elected president as part of the announced democratic transition.
Authorities were looking into several scenarios in Saturday’s blast, including whether an explosive device might have gone off prematurely.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.