A major fire raged for more than two hours overnight in a densely populated and run-down Cairo district named in honour of ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak's wife Suzanne, witnesses said.

No-one was killed in the blaze, which was put out in the early hours of Saturday, but several people were taken to hospital with smoke inhalation injuries. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

The "Suzanne Mubarak Housing Project" is part of a larger slum neighbourhood called Duweiqa, and was renovated by the former first lady, a hate figure for the protesters who overthrew her husband last week.

Residents told AFP the fire broke out in slum housing clustering around the more modern and well-built blocks developed by the first lady. Around seven homes, two and three-storey brick shanties, were destroyed.

A security official said that 40 fire engines had been deployed to fight the blaze, and firefighters were leaving the scene as AFP arrived.

In 2008, Duweiqa was the scene of a major disaster when 119 people were killed in a rockslide that crushed a section of low-income housing.