CAIRO (REUTERS) - An explosion ripped through fuel tanks near Egypt's Cairo airport on Thursday evening (July 12), igniting a fire in the area, but the country's civil aviation minister said air movement was unaffected.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.

Egyptian state television reported that firefighters had brought the fire under control. It said the tanks outside the airport perimeter belonged to a private company, which was not identified.

Regional television stations showed ambulances racing towards the scene.

Egypt is battling an Islamist militant insurgency that has carried out attacks, mainly in the remote Sinai Peninsula, where the army has been conducting a security operation since February.

(This story is developing)