American stabbed outside embassy in Cairo

CAIRO -- An assailant stabbed an American man yesterday while they were standing outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, security officials said.

The area around the embassy has been the site of anti-American incidents and violence in the past, but stabbing attacks are uncommon despite political unrest that has roiled Egypt since the 2011 uprising.

Embassy spokesman David Ranz confirmed that a U.S. citizen was stabbed near the embassy, and said he was immediately rushed to the hospital. His condition was not known.

There were differing accounts of the attack.

An Egyptian official said the assailant, who was wielding a knife, attacked the American as he stood outside the embassy building.

The state-run daily Al Ahram said the victim, Christopher Stone, told prosecutors that the attacker asked him his nationality and when learned he was American, pulled the knife and stabbed him.

Egypt's official news agency MENA reported that security authorities believe a brawl broke out between the American and the attacker over who was next in line.

The attacker was arrested and questioned by police, according to the security official. -- AP