Egypt's Sisi appreciates Italy for support to war against terrorism

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met Monday with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni and expressed appreciation for Italy's support to Egypt's war against terrorism, said presidential spokesman Alaa Yousse.

The meeting comes two days after a powerful blast targeted an Italian consulate in downtown Cairo, killing a passerby and causing massive damages to the consulate and cracks to some surrounding buildings.

The Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) militant group, which has changed its name to "Sinai State" and vowed loyalty to the Islamic State (IS) regional militant group, claimed responsibility for the blast on a Twitter account attributed to them.

"The Italian minister noted that his country looks at the blast outside the Italian consulate in Cairo as a a failed attempt to undermine the strong ties between Egypt and Italy, stressing that such an incident will increase the strength of the two countries' bilateral relations," the presidential spokesman said.

Gentiloni met earlier with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry, where they both reaffirmed the strong ties between the two countries.

"Egypt is a cornerstone for stability in the region," the Italian foreign minister told reporters in a joint press conference with Shukry, stressing his country's support for Egypt's war against terrorism.

Hours after Saturday's blast outside the Italian consulate in Cairo, Sisi received a phone call from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who voiced his country's solidarity with Egypt in its anti-terror war and its interest in obliterating terrorism.

The explosion comes less than two weeks after the assassination of Egypt's top prosecutor via a car bomb in late June.

Later in early July, bloody terrorist attacks on several checkpoints killed 17 military men in North Sinai province bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Israel, while the military raids on militants in the peninsula killed over 250 since then.

The consulate's blast is the first terrorist activity that has targeted a diplomatic office since the overthrow of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in early July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.

Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism since the Morsi's ouster and the following crackdown on his supporters, particularly those of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, which left more than 1,000 of them killed and thousands more arrested.

Since then, Sinai-based self-proclaimed Islamists have been launching terror attacks against police and army men, leaving hundreds of them killed; the ABM claimed responsibility for most of the anti-government attacks.

In its annual report released in late May, Egypt's National Council for Human Rights said that the violence since Morsi's removal has resulted in the death of 2,600 people, including 700 police and army men, 550 civilians and 1,250 Brotherhood members and supporters. Endit