Egyptian police work hard to determine the cause of the blast. (Photo source: Xinhua/AFP)

Egyptian policemen secure the site of a bomb blast in the Al-Azhar area of Cairo. (Xinhua/AFP)

   CAIRO, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Egyptian officials on Friday moved to assure foreign visitors that they are safe in the country, downplaying the significance of an explosion in Cairo's Old City late Thursday afternoon.

Egyptian policemen barricade the scene of an explosion attack in Cairo April 8. (Xinhua)

   Egyptian Minister of Tourism Ahmed al-Maghrabi told reporters that police are working hard to determine the cause of the blast, saying foreign tourists should not be scared away from Egypt.

   "Incidents like this could turn out to be acts of one individual," Maghrabi said, adding "people should not be scared
away from this country."

   According to the official, the death toll of the blast rose to three, including a French woman and a US national.

   He said the third victim has not yet been identified, though some media reports said the third dead was the bomber himself.

   The explosion took place at around 5:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) Thursday in an open-air market close to al-Azhar mosque, one of the most revered shrines in the Sunni Muslim world.

   No group has claimed responsibility so far.

   Meanwhile, the US embassy in Cairo on Friday warned its citizens against visiting places teeming with tourists.

   "All residents of and visitors to Egypt should be especially vigilant and avoid areas of Cairo where large numbers of tourists congregate," said a statement from the embassy.

   Thursday's explosion is the first fatal attack against foreign tourists in more than seven years in Cairo and the second major attack in Egypt in six months.

   Last October, three car bombs exploded almost simultaneously outside the Taba Hilton hotel and two tourist camps 55 km farther south.

   Egyptian investigators found eight Egyptians and a Palestinian were behind the bombings but denied they belonged to a larger terror organization.

   Some people said the incident has reminded the Egyptians of the tumultuous 1990s when Islamic extremists staged a series of attacks across the country.

   "It's not clear whether the explosion is another terror attack, but it does refresh the memories of the Egyptians of what had happened in the five years between 1992 and 1997," said Azzem Tarek, a political analyst.

   Islamic extremists started an insurgency aimed at overthrowing the government led by President Hosni Mubarak in 1992 and launched a string of attacks against foreign tourists in an attempt to weaken the national economy by scaring foreigners away from the country.

   Those five years witnessed numerous killings of foreign tourists by the Islamic extremists in Cairo and at spots of tourist attraction across the country. A large number of Egyptians also fell victim to the attacks.

   The chain of terror culminated in November 1997 when Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians in an attack at the Pharaonic Temple of Hatshepsut outside Luxor in southern Egypt, shocking both Egypt and the international community.

   The notorious attack later became known as the "Massacre in Luxor" and has since served as a rallying call for the Egyptians to strike back against what they call "cowardly criminals."

   Maghrabi said "Egyptian authorities will try their best to psychologically help the citizens and tourists wounded in the blast," according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.

   "The ministry pays due attention to how to overcome the psychological scars left by the grisly incident," he added.

   The tourism minister also said the ministry will keep the families of the tourists up to date on any developments.

   Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef and Minister of Health and Population Mohammad Awad Tag Eddin on Friday morning visited Al-Hussein hospital where people wounded in the blast are receiving treatment. Enditem

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