A dawn blast in front of Cairo's police headquarters has rocked the Egyptian capital, smashing windows and forcing open doors, according to witnesses.
The explosion was reported just after 6.30am local time today and was reportedly followed by gunmen opening fire on buildings, according to witnesses who spoke to state TV.
It was caused by a car bomb which went off in front of the city's police headquarters, according to the international news agency AFP.
The blast comes a day before the third anniversary of the uprising which toppled the Egyptian autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Political tension is still high in the country after the overthrowing of the democratically-elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July last year.
A Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition had planned nationwide protests today after Friday prayers.
The high-profile target should have been one of the most secure in the capital and bomb squad investigators are reportedly at the scene.
Videos and photos from the scene this morning showed the building still standing but with black scorch marks around scores of blown-out windows.
The footage showed several wrecked and charred floors of the high-rise security building with the pavement outside littered with shuttered glass, pieces of bricks and rocks.
Many of Cairo's eight million inhabitants were woken by the blast and reported a plume of smoke rising over the city centre.
State TV reported a large number of ambulances have been sent to the scene and police sealed off the area as hundreds of people gathered.
No injuries have yet been confirmed, but the Egyptian news channel CBC reported at least two people had died and 47 were injured, citing as its source the Egyptian Ministry of Health.
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