A man who “was planning to use flammable chemical material” in a “hostile act” near the US Embassy in Cairo was arrested Tuesday, a security source said in an official statement to CNN.
A bag that the 24-year-old man was carrying caught on fire and was later found to contain a plastic bottle with flammable material inside it, according to the statement.
“The man harbors extremist ideology, according to initial examination,” the statement said, adding that the incident resulted in no casualties or damage.
At around 1:30 p.m. local time, reports began to emerge of an incident near the US Embassy in Cairo and the Embassy warned American citizens to avoid the building.
“We are aware of a reported incident on Simon Bolivar Street in Cairo. Please avoid the area and monitor local media for updates,” the Embassy wrote on its Twitter account. “U.S. Citizens should/not come to the Embassy at this time,” it added.
About an hour later, the Embassy said it had resumed “normal business” after police “finished their investigation at the scene of the incident.”
An embassy official who was inside at the time told CNN that the incident took place outside the Embassy walls and that no one entered the compound. He also said that he did not hear an explosion.
CNN’s Judith Vonberg contributed to this report