Explosion (illustrative)
Explosion (illustrative)Thinkstock

A large bomb exploded early Thursday morning (local time) near a national security building in the Shubra neighborhood of Cairo, Egyptian security officials said, according to The Associated Press (AP).

At least six people were wounded early in the attack, which was caused by a car bomb, security sources told the Reuters news agency.

The sources, who inspected the site of the blast in, said there was a burned-out vehicle and crater.

Comments on Twitter indicated the blast was heard in several parts of the Egyptian capital.

Egypt has been dealing with a jihadist insurgency in recent years and, while the majority of the attacks have taken place in the restive Sinai Peninsula, other parts of Egypt have been hit as well.

Most of the attacks have been claimed by the Sinai Province, which is affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS).

Among the attacks claimed by the group was the assassination of a top Egyptian police general, who was gunned down as he left his home in a west Cairo neighborhood, and a bus bombing on a tour bus filled with South Korean tourists in the Sinai. 

The attack in Cairo came several days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi approved an anti-terrorism law that sets up special courts and provides protections to its enforcers.

The Cabinet approved the draft law last month, two days after a car bomb in an upscale Cairo neighborhood killed the country's prosecutor general, Hisham Barakat. On the day it was approved, jihadists launched a multi-pronged attack attempting to seize a northern Sinai town.