A police colonel was killed and seven others were injured Sunday in a blast near the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Cairo, the interior and health ministries said, revising an earlier toll of four.
A civilian and six policemen were injured in the explosion, MENA news quoted Assistant Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Othman saying.
Several explosive devices went off outside the entrance of a metro station and under a bridge opposite the ministry building.
The explosion occurred on a sidewalk in the lightly crowded neighbourhood of Boulaq Abu Eila Street, under the May 15 Bridge where a security checkpoint is located.
The attack happened on the first day of the academic session in Egypt.
Students in five schools near the blast site were evacuated.
Also dozens of street vendors of second-hand clothes near the metro station were moved to safer places.