Cairo: Egypt's Interior Ministry says police have arrested a man suspected of throwing a suitcase containing a makeshift bomb at Cairo's main synagogue.
The man is suspected of entering a downtown hotel on Sunday and tossing an explosive-laden suitcase out the window at the synagogue across the street and then fleeing.
The case contained four containers of gasoline each attached to a glass bottle of sulfuric acid meant to shatter on impact and ignite the makeshift bomb, said police, who speculated the man may have panicked.
The bag, which also contained clothes, cotton strips, matches and a lighter, fell onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel and briefly caught fire before being extinguished. There were no injuries and no damage to the historic synagogue.
The ministry said in a statement the suspect has a record of extremism and drug abuse, and told authorities he was angered by Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories.
The suspect fled the scene and is now being sought by police.
The downtown synagogue, Egypt's largest, is the only one still conducting services for the Jewish high holidays, which are sometimes attended by Israeli diplomats.
The temple, known as Shaar Hashamayim, or the Gate of Heaven, was built in 1899 in a style evoking ancient Egyptian temples and was once the largest building on the wide downtown boulevard.
