A powerful blast seriously damaged the Italian consulate in Cairo on Saturday, killing one civilian and injuring four, officials said.
Heath Ministry official Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar told The Associated Press that the identity of the victim was not clear,
The explosion, which occurred early in the morning when the consulate was closed for business and few people were out on the streets, caused several injuries, according to local media reports. The force of the blast sheared off the façade of the building, and raised questions of how attackers would have been able to transport a large quantity of explosives into a heavily policed area of the city center, where the consulate is located.