Reuters witness: Blast heard in central Cairo

A vehicle bomb exploded outside the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Saturday, killing at least one person.

During it, the group has claimed responsibility for an assault on a beach resort in Tunisia that left dozens of foreign tourists dead and the bombings of Shiite mosques in Kuwait and Yemen that killed scores more.

Some residents were reportedly evacuated from nearby residential buildings, due to damage from the blast.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi spoke with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi via phone.

A tweet from a Twitter account linked to IS said Muslims should stay away from sites like the consulate, as they are “legitimate targets” for strikes.

The force of the blast shook a building in downtown Cairo and could be heard in many neighbourhoods.

“It is considered an important historical building, to say nothing of the relationships of friendship that join Egypt and Italy”, Badr Abdel Atty said in a statement.

“We will not leave Egypt to stand alone”.

It also highlighted Islamic State’s reach after it seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria, expanded into Egypt’s neighbor Libya and more recently claimed responsibility for high-profile attacks in France, Kuwait and Tunisia.

Underground water pipes were ruptured by the explosion, flooding the area.

The blast, which happened at around 6:20 on Saturday morning, was reportedly carried out by Isis, the terror group said later the same day.

Sinai security expert Zack Gold described the attack as “new and worrying”, and said militants either aimed to take over the city of Sheikh Zuwaid, where the attacks took place, or wanted to drag the army into an actual battle.

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

A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Cairo was “able and determined” to provide full protection to foreign missions in the country. Hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have also been sentenced to death.

Previously, the militants had confined attacks to mainly the security services of the state, killing hundreds of soldiers and police officers the past two years.

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