Islamic terrorists strike close to home -- theirs!

While we were waiting to see who was behind this weekends mass murders in El Paso and Dayton -- wondering if it was the work of terrorists (domestic or imported) or maybe just a couple of deranged individuals (as it turned out) -- the real terrorists, the jihadists, were in training in the Middle East. In Cairo, chief shithole of Egypt, to be specific.

Sadly for mearly two dozen Cairenes, their practice run -- moving a car full of explosives to the site of a planned attack -- didn't go off as planned. Or perhaps I should say it went off before it was planned, as the car exploded late Sunday night on the busy Corniche boulevard along the Nile River, setting other cars on fire, killing at least 20 and injuring at least 47, most of them Muslims. No cries of "Allahu akbar!" were heard, just a shout of "Oh shit!"

The massively weaponized vehicle [Hey! You learned a new word! Ed.] exploded near Egypt's main cancer hospital (pictured) shattering parts of the facade and some rooms inside and forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients. The hospital's main gate was damaged, along with several patient rooms and wards, according to a statement from Cairo University, whose medical school uses the institution as an educational facility. Windows and glass doors on the hospital building were shattered.

One patient told the meeja, "Parts of the ceiling of the hospital were collapsing as I got out of my room. People were running everywhere and shouting." The Egyptian Health Ministry did not say whether any patients or hospital staff were among the casualties. Another witness said that several vehicles on the street were damaged, burning those inside.

Inspector Mohammed Mohammed of the Cairo Police initially said the explosion was caused by a multi-vehicle accident. But today the Interior Ministry acknowledged that a car bomb was involved. The authorities accused a militant group known as Hasm, which has links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying it was moving the car, which had been stolen months ago, to carry out an attack, errr, somewhere else.

The attack is the deadliest in Cairo since a bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral killed 30 people during Sunday mass in December 2016. That attack was claimed by Egypt's affiliate of the ISIS group. For years, Egypt has battled Islamic militants, led by an ISIS affiliate, in the Sinai Peninsula. That insurgency has at times spilled over into other parts of the country. Smaller bombings, usually by roadside devices, have taken place more often, targeting security forces and in two cases tourists near the Pyramids. Car bombs, however, have been far rarer in the capital.