Large bomb explodes in Cairo neighborhood

The blast, which was heard across the Egyptian capital in the early hours of Thursday, heavily damaged the face of the state security building. The driver had parked it then was picked up by a motorcycle and fled before the explosives went off. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, as the Sinai outfit was known before it pledged allegiance to the IS group last year, claimed responsibility.

There were no immediate reports of deaths from the explosion, which made a wide crater near the four-storey building, shattered its windows and destroyed a major part of the front portion of a surrounding wall, according to AFP news agency.

“The front glass window of my apartment broke and two doors fell down”.

Militants have killed scores of police and soldiers since the overthrow of Morsi.

A local IS-affiliated militant organization which calls itself “Sinai Province” has played a prominent role in a wave of attacks on security forces that has left hundreds dead.

The Islamic State franchise Sinai Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Cairo courthouse as the Egyptian government continues to grapple with an insurgency that has targeted the legal system, police, and military. Those attacks accelerated in 2013 following the military’s removal of the elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It said the attack was revenge for the hanging of six members of its Egyptian affiliate – known as “Sinai Province” – in May. To address the problem, the state legislature has passed several anti-terrorism laws in the past few months.

That led to a provision in the new anti-terror law calling for heavy fines against journalists whose accounts of militant attacks diverge from official statements issued by Egyptian authorities.

The Cupboard accredited the draft anti-terrorism regulation final month, two days after a automotive bomb in an upscale Cairo neighborhood killed the nation’s prosecutor basic, Hisham Barakat.

Though criticised by rights activists, the law has met support from Sisi’s many supporters who demand a firm hand to restore stability in the country of 87 million people.