Egypt ramps up security after Italian consulate blast

Egypt has deployed a large security force to protect foreign embassies and consulates around the country following Saturday’s deadly car bomb outside the Italian consulate in Cairo.

An increased number of of armed guards, bomb squads and police canine units were deployed to foreign missions, Israel Radio reported Sunday.

According to the report, stricter security measures have been implemented, among them a ban on official vehicles parking near embassies or consulates.

The early morning explosion killed a civilian and wounded nine people, including police and passers-by, the Egyptian health ministry said.

Hours after the blast, Islamic State said it was behind the embassy attack and warned Muslims to stay away from such places.

“Soldiers of the Islamic State in Cairo were able to detonate a parked booby-trapped vehicle laden with 450 kg (990 pounds) of explosives at the headquarters of the Italian consulate,” the US-based security monitor SITE Intelligence Group reported quoted an IS tweet as saying.

“We advise Muslims to stay away from these security dens, because they are legitimate targets for strikes of the mujahideen,” the statement added.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Saturday that his country would not be intimidated by the bombing.

“Bombing against our consulate in Cairo, there are no Italian victims,” Gentiloni tweeted shortly after the attack that left one person dead. “Our thoughts are with the people affected and with our personnel. Italy will not let itself be intimidated.”

The bombing was the first assault on a foreign mission in Egypt since jihadists launched a campaign against security forces two years ago.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi later contacted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and expressed Italy’s support for Egypt’s fight against terrorism.

“Italy knows that terrorism is an enormous challenge that deeply marks history in our time,” Renzi told el-Sissi, according to a statement from his office. “We will not leave Egypt alone: Italy and Egypt are and will always be together in the fight against terrorism.”

The consulate in central Cairo was closed at the time of the explosion around 6:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), which brought down the facade of the building and could be heard across the capital.

Meanwhile, in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, jihadists loyal to the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria launched a wave of attacks on July 1 that killed at least 21 soldiers.

IS, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria, has called on its affiliates elsewhere to attack Western targets.