Car bomb collides with vehicles in Egypt capital, killing 20

CAIRO -- A car packed with explosives being driven to carry out an attack collided with other vehicles and exploded in central Cairo, killing at least 20 people, the Interior Ministry said Monday, the deadliest attack in the Egyptian capital in over two years.

The blast went off Sunday night on the busy Corniche boulevard along the Nile River, setting other cars on fire and injuring at least 47. It damaged Egypt's main cancer hospital nearby, shattering parts of the facade and some rooms inside, forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients.

Authorities had initially said the explosion was caused by a multi-vehicle accident. But later Monday, the Interior Ministry acknowledged a car bomb was involved.

It accused a militant group known as Hasm, which has links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying it was moving the car to carry out an attack elsewhere. The ministry did not say what the intended target was. The car had been stolen months earlier in the Nile Delta, it said.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called it a "terrorist incident" in a tweet, expressing condolences for the dead and vowed to "face and root out terrorism."

The attack is the deadliest in Cairo since a bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 30 people during Sunday Mass in December 2016. That attack was claimed by Egypt's affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Smaller bombings, usually by roadside devices, have taken place more often, targeting security forces and, in two cases, tourists near the Pyramids. Car bombs, however, have been far rarer in the capital.

For years, Egypt has battled Islamic militants, led by an IS affiliate, in the Sinai Peninsula. That insurgency has at times spilled over into other parts of the country.

Militant attacks increased after el-Sissi, as defense minister, led the military's 2013 ouster of then-President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader, after massive protests against his rule. Since then, the government has waged a major crackdown on the Brotherhood, banning it and declaring it a terrorist organization. Morsi collapsed and died in a Cairo courtroom in June.