Police Find Potential Suitcase-Bomb
CAIRO - One Egyptian news paper says clearly - there was an attempt at starting a fire near the main synagogue in Egypt's capitol city.
Someone threw a suitcase out the window of a hotel close by around 3 AM, containing a glass bottle of acid, cloth, matches and some gasoline. A nearby synagogue may have been the target of the home-made bomb. The incident took place during the early morning hours on January 21.
According to an Egyptian police report quoted by the Associated Press, a man attempted to set the place of worship on fire by hurling an explosive suitcase from the fourth floor window of a hotel located nearby. The attack occurred just after he checked in, at 3:00 a.m.
The incendiary suitcase held four containers of gasoline, each attached to a glass bottle of sulfuric acid that was intended to shatter upon impact and ignite. The bag also contained cotton strips, a lighter, matches and clothing. It briefly caught fire as it fell onto the sidewalk, but was quickly extinguished.
According to the report, the perpetrator, who fled, “may have panicked.”
No one was injured, nor were any arrests made as of yet.
The Egyptian police are investigating the matter.
