IS claim bombing at Cairo state security building

CAIRO - A blast rocked the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday, injuring 29 people including at least six policemen, the country's interior ministry said.

According to a statement posted in Arabic on the Egyptian Ministry of Interior's official Facebook page, the blast was caused when a car exploded after it stopped suddenly in front of a state security building in the northern district of Shubra.

A man jumped out of the vehicle and fled the scene on a motorcycle before the car exploded, the statement said.

Six police officers were sent to the hospital for treatment after being injured in the bombing, according to the statement.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The soldiers of the Islamic State managed to target a police building by a car bomb in the heart of Cairo," said an Islamic State statement posted on a Twitter account affiliated with the group.

A health ministry official confirmed that the bombing  caused no deaths. The ministry also reported that most of the wounded sustained only minor injuries and have since been released from the hospital.

The blast damaged windows, walls and the outer fence of the building's premises. A bomb squad was sent to the scene to determine the cause of the explosion. 

The bombing came just days after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ratified an anti-terrorism law which critics claim gives wider powers to police, restricts human rights and muzzles the press.

Hundreds more have been sentenced to death after speedy trials, denounced by the United Nations as "unprecedented" in recent history.