An explosion near an open market in downtown Cairo killed at least two people, including a French woman, and wounded 18 others Thursday afternoon, an Interior Ministry official told Xinhua.

"A French women who was injured in the attack died at the hospital," said the official, adding "police found another unidentified body at the site."

The wounded were four French, three Americans, an Italian and a Turkish in addition to nine Egyptians, he added.

Previous reports quoted witnesses as saying that four people were killed in the blast, which occurred at around 5:00 PM (15:00 GMT) near a market close to al-Azhar mosque, one of the most revered shrines in the Sunni Islamic world.

Around the mosque are a number of markets selling souvenirs and traditional handcrafts and frequented by foreign tourists.

Minister of Health and Population Mohammed Awad Afifi Tag Eddin rushed to the scene to handle the emergency, Egypt's official MENA news agency said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2005)