IS behind Cairo consulate attack

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack at the Italian consulate in central Cairo, in an escalation of violence that suggests militants are opening a new front against foreigners in Egypt.

The blast killed an Egyptian passerby and wounded eight other people, one of whom is still in hospital, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

“Islamic State soldiers were able to detonate a parked car bomb carrying 450kg of explosive material on the headquarters of the Italian consulate in central Cairo,” the group said in an online statement.