Egypt official: Explosion outside Italian Consulate in Cairo

Security officials have said under the condition of anonymity may have been a vehicle blast but this is yet to be confirmed.

The official MENA news agency reported that the blast was caused by auto bomb. No group has said it carried out the attack.

A health ministry spokesman said the blast killed a civilian and wounded nine.

The attacks in Sinai prompted President Abdel Fattah al Sisi to pledge tougher anti-terrorism laws which have caused controversy among journalists and rights activists.

People gather at the site of an explosion near the Italian embassy in Cairo, Egypt, on July 11, 2015. Four people were also injured, medical sources said.

However Egypt is in the midst of a rising wave of violence in recent weeks between government forces and Islamic militants.

Militants have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsy in July 2013.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni says his country will not be intimidated by the deadly explosion that damaged the Italian Consulate building in Cairo.

Last month, Egypt’s prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat was killed in an attack that targeted his convoy in Cairo. Following an hours-long battle, the army said it killed over 200 terrorists.