Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—One person was killed and 10 injured in an explosion that targeted the Italian consulate in Cairo on Saturday morning, according to health officials. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

A Twitter account affiliated with the group said it had carried out the attack, which follows others in North Sinai in recent weeks also claimed by ISIS’s branch in Egypt.

The attack was the first claimed by the group targeting foreign interests in the country. Previous attacks have targeted military and security personnel.

Parts of nearby buildings, including the Egypt Journalists’ Union building, were also damaged in the blast, which came as a result of a car bomb explosion.

Security sources told state media initial investigations revealed the car was loaded with around 250 kilograms of TNT explosives.

On Saturday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab again said that Egypt was now in a “state of war” and called for help from foreign countries.

A statement from the office of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said he had telephoned Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and both leaders vowed their countries would stand together against terrorism and extremism.

The statement added that Egypt would be stepping up security at all foreign embassies and buildings.

Security expert Khaled Okasha, head of the Cairo-based National Center for Security Studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday the attack “targeted the symbolic value of the building, which is owned by the Italian Embassy, as a way to impede Egyptian–Italian relations, which have grown in the past months.”

Okasha added that Italy had acted as a “bridge” between Egypt and other EU countries during the past period.

Back in March, Prime Minister Renzi gave a keynote speech at a major economic development conference in Sharm El-Sheikh. The event aimed to draw in foreign investment to help galvanize the Egyptian economy after four years of instability following the revolution which overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Following Saturday’s attack Renzi said on an interview broadcast by Al-Jazeera he considered Sisi “a great leader”

“In this moment Egypt will be saved only with the leadership of Sisi,” Renzi added.

This comes a week after Egypt launched airstrikes against militants belonging to Sinai Province, ISIS’s affiliate in Egypt, in North Sinai in response to coordinated attacks against army checkpoints in the peninsula.

Egypt has been rocked by terrorist attacks since the army ousted former president Mohamed Mursi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure.