IS claims bombing at Italian consulate in Cairo

The Islamic State group said it was responsible for a deadly car bomb Saturday outside the Italian consulate in Cairo, warning Muslims to stay away from such places, SITE Intelligence Group reported.

“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 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 mujahedeen,” the statement added.

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

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Saturday that his country will 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.

A health ministry spokesman said the blast killed a civilian and wounded nine. Medics had earlier said two policemen and three passers-by had been wounded.

Militants have carried out scores of attacks since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, killing hundreds of policemen and soldiers mostly in the Sinai Peninsula.

Diplomats had told AFP they had been warned by police months ago that embassies could be targeted, but it was not clear whether this was based on specific intelligence.

At least one Western embassy had relocated over security concerns.

The Italian consul in Cairo arrived at the scene of the attack and went inside the building to inspect it, refusing to speak to reporters.

The official MENA news agency reported that the blast was caused by a car bomb.

It brought down part of the building, and the remains of at least one vehicle were strewn on the street. A small wooden police kiosk outside the consulate was completely destroyed.

The consulate is located near the prosecution’s offices and the supreme court.

The attack came less than two weeks after suspected militants assassinated the country’s top prosecutor in a car bombing in the capital.

In Sinai, 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.

Last week’s attacks had prompted President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to pledge tougher laws with the cabinet set to approve a controversial anti-terrorism law that sparked an uproar among journalists and rights activists.

Sissi, the former army chief who led Morsi’s ouster, won elections last year, pledging to wipe out the militants and Morsi’s blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Sissi had overseen a crackdown that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly Islamist protesters during the dispersal of sometimes violent protests.

Thousands have been jailed, including secular dissidents, and hundreds sentenced to death in mass trials, although most have won retrials.

The crackdown had initially brought international pressure on Sissi, especially from the European Union, which has largely given way to support as he positions himself as a front line opponent of regional jihadists.

Sissi visited Italy among other European countries late last year, meeting his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.

The president is widely popular in Egypt, where many have demanded a strong leader who can restore stability after more than four years of turmoil following a 2011 uprising that overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.

But rights groups say freedoms have been trampled under Sissi’s administration.

The draft anti-terrorism law would ban independent reporting of militant attacks, stipulating a two-year prison sentence for journalists who contradict death tolls in official statements.

The cabinet has said it would reconsider that provision following a media outcry.