Update: 29 casualties in blast targeting Egyptian police headquarters

The number of casualties from the Qalioubiya province blast early Thursday near Cairo has risen to 29, Egyptian official news agency MENA reported.

A massive car bomb explosion took place Thursday targeting a national security building in Shubra el Khaima in the Qalioubiya province near Cairo.

Roughly all the casualties, which include six policemen, were slightly wounded, with several cases discharged from hospitals, said health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar.

The Interior Ministry said in an statement that "a man suddenly stopped his car in front of the state security building, jumped out of it and fled on a motorbike which followed the car."

The police department's senior officials, civil protection personnel and explosive-device experts rushed to the scene following the explosion, the statement said.

The blast shattered all the windows of a four-storey building, destroyed a surrounding wall, with damage to structures in the neighborhood nearby.

Since the military deposed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his rule, Egypt has witnessed numerous anti-government armed attacks, killing hundreds of policemen and army personnel.

"Sinai State", a Sinai-based offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) group, has claimed responsibilty for Thursday's attack in an online post.

Egypt's National Council for Human Rights said in its annual report released in May, that violent attacks since Morsi's deposition led to the death of 2,500 individuals, including 700 policemen and army troops. Endit