8 killed, 85 wounded in Egypt as blast hits security building

A powerful blast hit a security building in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura early Tuesday, killing at least eight people and injuring 85 others, semi-official Ahramonline reported.

Quoting an anonymous security official, the website said that altogether three bombs had been planted before the explosion and two of them went off almost at the same time. The third one in a car nearby was defused.

Security officials were quoted as saying that a five-store bank building nearby collapsed and dozens of vehicles were wrecked.

Most of the victims were police conscripts, Omar el-Shawatqi, governor of the Daqahliya Governorate told reporters. "They have been rushed to nearby hospitals," he said. Mansoura is the capital of the Daqahliya Governorate.

A photo on the website showed that the exterior walls of the building were badly damaged and the death toll are expected to soar, as more people are still trapped in the building.

Tensions are running high in Egypt since the fall of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in early July, with a good number of bombings being executed across the country.