An Egyptian man makes his way through rubble at the scene of an explosion at a police headquarters building that killed at least a dozen people, wounded more than 100, and left scores buried under the rubble, in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2013 (Photo: AP)
The death toll from the blast that rocked the Nile Delta city of Mansoura Tuesday has risen to 16, in the worst terror attack to hit Egypt since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted in July.
As forensic investigators concluded Wednesday their autopsy of the 16 bodies of the Daqahliya Security Directorate explosion victims, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported the casualties to be 14 officers and conscripts and two civilians. Their injuries, reportedly mostly affecting the abdomen, chest and head, were caused by shrapnel from the explosion.
One of the casualties, a woman, died beneath the debris of the building after suffering from cerebral haemorrhage and injuries to her lungs and ribs.
Doctor Hisham Abdel-Hameed, assistant chief of medical examiners, said metal objects had been extracted from the bodies of the victims.
The prosecution has permitted the burial of all casualties.
Daqahliya governor Omar El-Shawadfy declared the state would disburse LE4000 to each of the 134 injured victims' families and LE10,000 to the families of the deceased.
The explosion – which initial Ministry of Interior findings attribute to a car bomb – is the first terror attack of such magnitude to be carried out in proximity to the capital, with a mere 128 kilometres separating the two cities.
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