Explosion outside Cairo Synagogue...

Only a handful of Jews remain in Egypt...

An unidentified man has thrown a suitcase containing a small explosive device at a synagogue in central Cairo, the Egyptian interior ministry has said.

The device, which contained cans of petrol and a bottle of sulphuric acid, exploded on Sunday without injuring anyone.

The attacker had apparently checked into a hotel across the road from the synagogue before the incident and thrown the device from a fourth-storey window, the interior miistry said.

Security forces were hunting the man, who escaped unharmed from the scene, after scraps of clothing that were left in the suitcase had been found.

There is always a heavy police presence outside the Jewish place of worship in the Egyptian capital.

The temple, known as Shaar Hashamayim, or the Gate of Heaven, was built in 1899 and services are sometimes attended by israeli diplomats.

However, most of the country's Jewish population, which once numbered about 80,000 people, left Egypt five decades ago amid hostilities between Arab countries and Israel.

Just several dozen elderly Jews are believed to remain.

The Jews didn't just leave...they were forced out.