16 dead, 5 injured in Agouza nightclub fire ignited by spurned patrons

Sixteen people died and at least five others were injured in a deadly blaze at an Agouza nightclub in the early hours of Friday after unknown assailants threw Molotov cocktails into its entrance, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on its official Facebook page.

The attack was criminal in nature, the ministry said, emphasizing that early investigations show no link to terrorist or other political motives.

A fight allegedly broke out between a group of young men and the nightclub's manager when he denied them entrance, an unnamed security source told the privately owned Masrawy news site. The assailants then returned, tossing Molotov cocktails into the building’s entrance and shooting bullets at the club before fleeing the scene.

The number of attackers and number of Molotov cocktails varies widely across news reports, ranging from three men lobbing three firebombs to a group of men throwing up to 15. There is also dispute as to whether or not the assailants threw the Molotovs from a motorcycle.

Once the fire started, the flames shot up and trapped people inside, as the club is very small with few exits, the source added. Reports suggest most, if not all, of the victims were nightclub employees.

Police have so far identified two potential suspects, unnamed security officials told the state-owned Middle East News Agency.

A group of men is seen trying to extinguish the flames shooting out of the entrance of a building that is only identified as the “Agouza nightclub” in a video purportedly showing the aftermath of the attack published by the privately owned news site Youm7.