Updated at 9.48am

A PETROL BOMB attack on a nightclub in Cairo in the early hours of this morning has killed at least 16 people and wounded five, police said.

Police launched a manhunt after the perpetrators fled the scene of the firebombing in the Agouza neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital.

An initial toll had put the number of deaths at 12.

A thick cloud of smoke was seen billowing from the fire-ravaged nightclub.

Stills from video published by newspaper Youm 7 showed thick black smoke pouring through the doorway of the El Sayad restaurant as onlookers milled outside unable to help. Flames were burning the inside of the building and charring the facade.

According to a security source, the attack followed a dispute between employees of the nightclub and a group of youths.

Egypt’s state-run news agency Mena quoted an unnamed security official as saying three men on a motorcycle threw Molotov cocktails into the club in the Agouza district early Friday and then fled.

It said the fire was quickly extinguished and security authorities are investigating the attack.

While Egypt is regularly hit by extremist violence, particularly targeting security forces, attacks on nightclubs are rare.

- © AFP, 2015, additional reporting by The Associated Press. Originally published at 8.51am.

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