Firebombs Kill 16 People at Cairo Restaurant

Molotov cocktails hurled at a Cairo restaurant killed 16 people and wounded two on Friday, Egyptian security officials said.

Three masked men threw the firebombs before fleeing, reported the BBC, apparently after a row between workers and other people there.

One of the officials said the attacker was an employee who had been fired from the restaurant in the Agouza area in the centre of the Egyptian capital.

Victims of the blast were burned to death or died from smoke inhalation in the establishment. The restaurant, also a nightclub, was in a basement, meaning people had no way out, the officials said.

Pictures of the restaurant where 18 were killed following a Molotov cocktail attack in Cairo #Egypt pic.twitter.com/Ez47tvCV88

— Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) December 4, 2015

Islamist militants have claimed a number of bombing and shooting attacks in Egypt, mostly against members of the security forces since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests.

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